From crow-scaring to Westminster; an autobiography. Foreword by Lord Ailwyn of Honingham; introd. by W.R. Smith

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FROM CROW-SCARING
TO WESTMINSTER

GEORGE EDWARDS, M.P., O.B.F..

FROM CROW-SCARING

TO

WESTMINSTER

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

BY

GEORGE EDWARDS, M.P., O.B.E.

Foreword by

THE RT. HON. LORD AILWYN OF
HONINGHAM

(Ex-MiNisTER or AGRICULTURE)
Introduction by

W. R. SMITH, M.P.

(PRESIDENT or THE NATIONAL UNION or AGRICULTURAL WORKERS)

Illustrated ^ \ 8 (f 3 S' 9 .

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LONDON :

THE LABOUR PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD.
6 TAVISTOCK SQUARE.

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£3fi!

published 7922

reserved)

Printed in Great Britain by
UtfWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THS GRESHAM PRESS, LONDON AND WOKIN0

FOREWORD

BY THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD AILWYN OF HONINGHAM, P.C.

(Ex-Minister of Agriculture)
(Chairman of the Norfolk County Council)

NORFOLK has produced many men of whom it may be
proud and among them is the author of this book.

I am glad to know that his friends have induced Mr.
George Edwards to write the story of his life, and it is
with great pleasure that I have assented to his request
to write a few introductory words, as I have known him
for a number of years and been associated with him in
a great deal of public work.

On many subjects George Edwards and I may not
agree, but on two points at least we are united — in love
for Norfolk and in devotion to the interests of agriculture.

Born at Marsham in 1850, the son of a farm worker,
George Edwards is a notable example of the way in which
adverse circumstances may be overcome by determination
and natural ability. The greater part of his life has been
devoted to efforts to improve the conditions of the class
to which he belongs.

He may, on looking back in the light of experience,
reflect — as most men on reaching his age must reflect —
that he has made some mistakes, but all who know him

6 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

will agree that if he has done so, they have been mistakes
of the head and not of the heart.

His honesty of purpose and sincerity of aim, his straight-
forwardness and conscientiousness, his strong religious
principles, are recognized by all who have the pleasure
of his acquaintance.

He is a valued member of the Norfolk County Council
and a respected Justice of the Peace.

As one of the representatives of Norfolk in the House
of Commons, he enjoys the confidence and respect of
men of all classes, including many who do not share his
political views.

It is with sincere pleasure and the most hearty good-
will that I commend to all who appreciate the record
of a strenuous career spent in the pursuit of worthy
aims this self-told story of the life of a distinguished
Norfolk man.

AILWYN.

August 1922.

CONTENTS

PAGE

FOREWORD . . . . . .5

INTRODUCTION . . . . . .11

CHAPTER

I. THE HUNGRY FORTIES . . -15

II. A WAGE EARNER . . . .22

III. EDUCATION AT LAST . . . .31

IV. PIONEERS AND VICTIMS . . • 37
V. DARE TO BE A UNION MAN . . -54

VI. A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY . . .61

VII. DARK DAYS . . . . -75

VIII. FAREWELLS . . . . .90

IX. RESURRECTIONS . . . .98

X. SUCCESS AT LAST .... 107

XL UNREST ...... 124

XII. THE GREAT STRIKE . . . .136

XIII. DEFEAT 156

XIV. PARTING FROM OLD FRIENDS . . . 173
XV. THE NEW MODEL . . . .178

XVI. THE GREAT WAR . . . .190

XVII. THE LABOUR PARTY .... 201

XVIII. PARLIAMENT . . . . .221

INDEX ...... 238

7

ILLUSTRATIONS

GEORGE EDWARDS, M.P., O.B.E. . . Frontispiece

TO FACE PAGE

THE AUTHOR'S BIRTHPLACE, MARSHAM, NORFOLK . 18

MR. AND MRS. EDWARD'S FIRST HOME AFTER
MARRIAGE, OULTON-NEXT-AYLSHAM, NORFOLK . 32

THE FIRST OFFICE OF THE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS'
UNION, GRESHAM, NORFOLK . . .156

THE LATE MRS. GEORGE EDWARDS . . . 184

INTRODUCTION

THIS book is more than the record of an adventurous
and useful life. It is an outline of the conditions of
labour in our greatest national industry during the last
seventy years, It is the story of years of struggle to
raise the status and standard of life of the agricultural
workers of England from a state of feudal serfdom to the
relatively high level now reached, mainly through the
organization of the Agricultural Labourers' Union. In
that long struggle no single person has done more dis-
interested, solid and self-sacrificing work than my old
friend and colleague George Edwards. The Union which
he founded some sixteen years ago and in the ranks of
which, at the age of seventy-two, he still plays a vigorous
and important part, is but the latest fruit of generations
of effort at the organization and education of the workers
of rural England.

Born in Norfolk in 1850 George Edwards commenced
farm work at the age of six. His long life of struggle
against tremendous odds should be, and I am certain
will be, an encouragement and an inspiration to many
whose opportunities and means of social service are greater
than his have been. And surely no greater service can
be rendered in our time to the cause of national well-
being than work devoted to the establishment of labour

12 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

conditions in the field of British agriculture in keeping
with the vital importance of that great industry.

It would be an unprofitable speculation to try to think
of what the author of this book might have achieved had
his early life been spent under happier conditions. Poverty,
servitude, oppression, the lack of what is regarded as
education, as well as the active hostility of those who
sought in order to protect their menaced interests to
crush him, have all been factors in the life of George
Edwards. But in spite of adverse circumstances, and it
may be because of adverse circumstances, some men are
capable of self-expression and refuse to be conquered.
George Edwards is such a man. And he has lived to see
tangible results of his life-devotion to the cause of the
class to which he belonged.

I think of the author of this book as I met him first,
thirty years ago, when he was conducting a campaign on
behalf of the persecuted and exploited farm labourers of
Norfolk. It is not perhaps easy for those who dwell in
towns and cities to appreciate the difficulties that had to
be encountered in the conduct of such a campaign ; the
fear of victimization and perhaps the indifference of those
on whose behalf the fight was being waged, as well as the
prejudice and hostility of those in authority. It is no
exaggeration to say that the man who dared to raise
his voice on behalf of the agricultural labourer at that
time was in imminent danger of suffering injury to purse
and person. A born fighter, George Edwards never
counted the cost to himself of his agitations and pro-
pagandist activity. Never had any body of workers a
more devoted or loyal servant. I have cycled with him,

INTRODUCTION 13

twenty miles or more, to meetings in various parts of
Norfolk, attended by thousands of men, women and children
from the surrounding districts, and even in his later years
I have listened to him as he spoke with that vigour and
enthusiasm and real eloquence which only strong conviction
and deep human feeling can command.

Like Arch, his co-worker in the cause of the agricultural
labourer, George Edwards inherited his fighting spirit and
independence of mind from his mother. And from his
wife, in his early manhood, he acquired the rudiments of
the elementary education which was to equip him for
the business side of his life-work.

A true record of the life of George Edwards would not
only be a record of deep human interest on its personal
side. He is the most lovable of the many lovable men it
has been my privilege to know. But the main public
interest and value of this book lies, I think, in the fact
that it will give readers a glimpse of the conditions of
agricultural England during the last seventy years, and
some idea of the ideals and objects of those who have
laboured to bring the country worker into line with other
workers in the fight for democratic rights and political
and economic freedom.

Wellnigh seventy years have passed since George
Edwards, the Norfolk farmer's boy of six, entered on his
life-work. In that time he has been continually in harness.
He is an ex-General Secretary of the Agricultural Labourers'
Union. Early in the war period he was elected an alderman
of the Norfolk County Council, of which he is a member.
He reached in 1920 the goal on which I believe his mind
was fixed. In that year he was returned to the House of

14 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Commons as the representative of South Norfolk, the
constituency in which a great part of his life had been
spent and which he had unsuccessfully contested in 1918.
In the House of Commons his contributions to debates
on agricultural questions are listened to with the respect
they deserve, and I can sincerely say that I share the
feeling of all who know him, that George Edwards, O.B.E.,
M.P., J.P., is not only a worthy representative of the
great cause with which he is associated, but a man whom
I am proud to count amongst my dearest friends.

WALTER R. SMITH.

From Crow-Scaring to
Westminster

CHAPTER I
THE HUNGRY FORTIES

IN the middle of the nineteenth century there lived in
the parish of Marsham, Norfolk, (a little village about
ten miles from Norwich and one and a half miles from
Aylsham), a couple of poor people by the name of Thomas
and Mary Edwards. Thomas Edwards was the second
husband of Mary Edwards, whose first husband was
Robert Stageman. He died in consumption and left
her with three little children to support. In due course
she married Thomas Edwards, by whom she had four
children, the entire family numbering seven. Thomas
Edwards enlisted in His Majesty's Army, served ten
years, was sent over to Spain, and fought in the interests
of the young Queen Isabel.

In those days a man who had been a soldier was looked
upon as being an inefficient workman, no matter what
his experience had been before enlistment, and further,
he was looked upon by the general public as a rather
undesirable character, no matter what his record might
have been whilst in the Army, and was considered fit
only to be thrown on the scrapheap. Such was the
experience of Thomas Edwards.

Before his enlistment he was an experienced agricultural

is

16 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

labourer. Nothing was known against his character
and during his ten years' service in His Majesty's Army
he bore a most exemplary character. When the Civil
War broke out in Spain this country decided to render
help to the Queen. Thomas Edwards was sent over
with the 6oth Rifles. The war lasted about eighteen
months and our troops suffered the greatest privations.
Few of the troops returned to tell the tale. Of those
that were not killed in action, many died of disease.

These heroes were made to believe that although they
were fighting in a foreign country, they were fighting
for their own King and Country, and were promised that
at the conclusion of the war each man that returned
should receive a bounty of £9. This promise was never
fulfilled, so far as Thomas Edwards was concerned, nor
anyone else so far as he knew.

Thomas, on being discharged from the Army, returned
to his native village penniless. The Army pay was
only is. id. per day, and on being discharged he expected
that a grateful country would assist him to make a start
again in civilian life. But no such good fortune awaited
him. On returning to his village he sought to obtain
work as an agricultural labourer, but no such employ-
ment could he find. For weeks he walked the roads
in search of work, but could not find any.

At this period there was a great depression in trade,
especially in agriculture. It was in the years 1830 to
1833. It is on record that more than half of the people
were receiving poor relief in some shape or form. Bread
was is. 6d. per 4 Ib. loaf. Married men received a wage
of QS. per week, single men 6s. per week. The Guardians
adopted a system of supplementary wages by giving
meal money according to the number in family, and
by so doing enabled the farmers to pay a scandalously
low wage. The poor-rate rose to 22s. in the pound,
unemployment was most acute. In a large number of
villages half the men were without work.

THE HUNGRY FORTIES 17

Thus this hero, like many others, was workless. The
unemployed grew restless and on November 6, 1833, a
village meeting was held to demand food. The inhabitants
of the parish of Marsham held a meeting which was
largely attended, the unemployed turning up in strong
force and showing a very threatening attitude. The
meeting, however, commenced with the repetition of
the Lord's Prayer. Following some very angry words,
a resolution was moved demanding work and better
wages. To the resolution were added the words : " The
labourer is worthy of his hire."

This resolution was moved by Thomas Edwards, and
a farmer who was present told him he might go and
pluck blackberries again or starve, for he should have
no work, and he kept his word.

What this threat meant was soon discovered. My
father on his return home penniless, unable to get work,
and without food, was forced to pick blackberries from
the hedges to eat. One day this particular farmer caught
him in his field and ordered him off, telling him he would

have no tramps in his field picking blackberries.

So insult was added to injustice to this honest man who
had fought, he was told, for his country.

Before Christmas in that year he sought shelter in
the workhouse, which was then at Buxton. There he
remained all the winter. In the following spring he took
himself out and got work as a brickmaker.

The summer being over, he obtained employment as
a cattle-feeder, but at is. per week less than other
labourers ; and although he had to work seven days, he
received the noble sum of 8s. per week. The reason
given for paying this low wage was that he had been
in the Army and was not an able-bodied workman.
No more unjust treatment could be meted out to any-
one.

It was in the year of 1840 — the year of Queen Victoria's
marriage —that Thomas Edwards married the young

2

18 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

widow, Mary Stageman. She had been left with three
little children, and had herself been an inmate of the
workhouse during her late husband's illness.

The first child born to this couple was a son, whom
they named Joseph, the second was named John, and
the third was a girl, whom they named Harriet. Between
this child and the next to live there was a period of five
years. All of this family are now dead with the exception
of my sister and myself. As the family increased, their
poverty increased. Wages were decreased, and had it
not been for the fact that my mother was able to add
a little to her husband's wages by hand-loom weaving
(which was quite a village industry at that time), the
family would have been absolutely starved. Hand-
loom weaving was a most sweated industry. One man
in the village would go to Norwich and fetch the raw
material from the factory and take the finished work
back. This weaving was principally done by women,
who were paid for it by the piece, that is, so many yards
to the piece at so much per piece. A certain sum was
deducted to pay the man for the time spent in carrying
the work backward and forward to Norwich. If there
was any defect in the weaving, then another sum was
deducted from the price which should have been paid,
and the employers never lost an opportunity of doing this.
Poor sweated workers were robbed at every turn.

I have known my mother to be at the loom sixteen
hours out of the twenty-four, and for these long hours
she would not average more than 43. a week, and very
often less than that.

It was on October 5, 1850, that Mary Edwards bore her
last baby boy.

The cottage in which the child was born was a miserable
one of but two bedrooms, in which had to sleep father,
mother, and six children. At this time my father's
wage had been reduced to 73. per week. The family at

THE HUNGRY FORTIES 19

this time was in abject poverty. When lying in bed with
the infant the mother's only food was onion gruel. As
a result of the bad food, or, properly speaking, the want
of food, she was only able to feed the child at her breast
a week. After the first week he had to be fed on bread
soaked in very poor skimmed milk. As soon as my
mother was able to get about again she had to take herself
again to the loom, and the child was left during the day
to the care of his little sister, who was only five years
his senior, and many a shaking did she give him when
he cried.

At the christening the parents named the child George,
a record of which can be found in the register of the Parish
Church, Marsham.

Whether my mother had any presentiment that this
child had a career marked out for him different from the
rest of the family, I am unable to say, but I sometimes
think she had. That this was indeed so has been lately
brought to my knowledge.

I have recently revisited the scenes of my childhood
days, and met in the village an old man who declares that
my mother often said that one day her son George would
be a Member of Parliament ! What gift of vision this
mother must have possessed, for in those days it was
never imagined that the doors of Westminster would
open to the child of such humble parentage ! Her
prophecy was partly fulfilled in her lifetime, for she
lived to see me a member of a Board of Guardians and
Rural District Council, and chairman of the first Parish
Council for the village in which I then lived.

At the time of my birth my father was again a bullock
feeder, working seven days a week, leaving home in the
morning before it was light, and not returning in the
evening until it was dark. He never saw his children
at this time, except for a little while on the Sunday, as
they were always put to bed during the winter months
before his return from work. The condition of the

20 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

family grew worse, for, although the Corn Laws were
repealed in 1849, *ne price of food did not decrease to
any great extent, but wages did go down. Married men's
wages were reduced from 95. to 8s. per week, and single
men's wages from 75. to 6s. per week. It was the rule
in those days that the single men should work for 2s. per
week less than the married men. Before the repeal of
the Corn Laws had the effect of reducing the cost of living
to any great extent, the great Crimean War broke out.
This, it will be remembered, was in 1854. Food rose
to famine prices. The price of bread went up to is.
per 4 Ib. loaf, sugar to 8d. per lb., tea to 6d. per oz., cheese
rose from 7d. per lb. to is. 6d. per lb. — in fact, every article
of food rose to almost prohibitive figures. The only
article of food that did not rise to such a proportionately
high figure was meat, but that was an article of food
which rarely entered a poor man's home, except a little
piece of pork occasionally which would weigh about i J Ib.,
and this would have to last a family of nine for a week !
Very often this small amount could not be obtained — in
fact it can be truly said that in those days meat never
entered my father's house more than once or twice a year !

The only thing which did not rise to any great extent
was wages. True, able-bodied married men's wages did
rise again in Norfolk to 95. per week. Single men did
not share in the rise. My father at this time was taking
8s. per week of seven days.

I was then four years of age, and the hardships of those
days will never be erased from my memory. My father's
wages were not sufficient to buy bread alone for the family
by 43. per week. My eldest brother Joseph, who was
twelve years old, was at work for is. 6d. per week, my
second brother John, ten years old, was working for
is. 2d. per week. My sister worked filling bobbins by
the aid of a rough hand machine to assist my mother
in weaving. My step-brothers apprenticed themselves
to the carpentering and joinery trade by the aid of a

THE HUNGRY FORTIES 21

little money which was left them by their late father's
brother, who died in South America. My other step-
brother went to sea.

In order to save the family from actual starvation my
father, night by night, took a few turnips from his master's
field. These were boiled by my mother for the children's
supper. The bread we had to eat was meal bread of the
coarsest kind, and of this we had not half enough.

We children often used to ask this loving mother for
another slice of bread, and she, with tears in her eyes,
was compelled to say she had no more to give.

As the great war proceeded the condition of the family
got worse. My sister and I went to bed early on
Saturday nights so that my mother might be able to wash
and mend our clothes, and we have them clean and tidy
for the Sunday. We had no change of clothes in those
days. This work kept my mother up nearly all the Satur-
day night, but she would be up early on the Sunday
morning to get our scanty breakfast ready in time for us
to go to Sunday-school.

This was the only schooling I ever had !

From my earliest days, as soon as I could be, I was sent
to Sunday-school to receive the teaching of the principles
of religion and goodness. My father used to keep our
little boots in the best state of repair he could. God
alone knows or ever knew how my parents worked and
wept and the sufferings and privations they had to
undergo. I particularly refer to my mother. I have
seen both faint through overwork and the lack of proper
food.

I owe all I am and have to my saintly father and mother.
It was they who taught me the first principles of righteous-
ness.

CHAPTER II
A WAGE EARNER

IT was in the year 1855 when I had my first experience
of real distress. On my father's return home from work
one night he was stopped by a policeman who searched
his bag and took from it five turnips, which he was taking
home to make his children an evening meal. There was
no bread in the house. His wife and children were wait-
ing for him to come home, but he was not allowed to
do so.

He was arrested, taken before the magistrates next
day, and committed to prison for fourteen days' hard
labour for the crime of attempting to feed his children !
The experience of that night I shall never forget.

The next morning we were taken into the workhouse,
where we were kept all the winter. Although only five
years old, I was not allowed to be with my mother.

On my father's release from prison he, of course, had
also to come into the workhouse. Being branded as a
thief, no farmer would employ him. But was he a
thief ? I say no, and a thousand times no ! A nation
that would not allow my father sufficient income to feed
his children was responsible for any breach of the law he
might have committed.

In the spring my father took us all out of the workhouse
and we went back to our home. My father obtained
work at brickmaking in the little village of Alby, about
seven miles from Marsham. He was away from home
all the week, and the pay for his work was 45. per thousand

A WAGE EARNER 23

bricks made, and he had to turn the clay with which the
bricks were made three times. He was, however, by
the assistance of one of my brothers, able to bring home
to my mother about 135. per week, which appeared almost
a godsend. In the villages during the war hand-loom
weaving was brought to a standstill, and thus my
mother was unable to add to the family income by her
own industry.

On coming out of the workhouse in March 1856 I
secured my first job. It consisted of scaring crows from
the fields of a farmer close to the house. I was then
six years of age, and I was paid is. for a seven-day week.
My first pay-day made me feel as proud as a duke. On
receiving my wage I hastened home, made straight for
my mother and gave her the whole shilling. To her
I said :

" Mother, this is my money. Now we shall not want
bread any more, and you will not have to cry again.
You shall always have my money. I will always look
after you."

In my childish innocence I thought my shilling would
be all she needed. It was not long, however, before I
discovered my mistake, but my wage proved a little
help to her. I am glad to recall in these days that I
did keep my promise to her always to look after her,
and my wife had the unspeakable pleasure of taking her
to our home, and we looked after her for six years out of
my 155. a week, without receiving a penny from anyone,
the Board of Guardians refusing to allow her anything
in the nature of poor relief. My wife's mother also lived
with us for sixteen years, and died at our house, and for
twenty-two years of my married life I maintained these
two old people.

My troubles began in the second week of my employ-
ment. Having to work long hours, I had to be up very
early in the morning, soon after sunrise, and remain in
the fields until after sunset. One day, being completely

24 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

worn out, I unfortunately fell asleep. Equally unfortu-
nately for me the crows were hungry, and they came on
to the field and began to pick the corn. Soon after the
farmer arrived on the scene and caught me asleep, and
for this crime at six years of age he gave me a severe
thrashing, and deducted 2d. from my wage at the end
of the week. Thus I had only lod. to take home to my
mother that week. But my mother was too good to scold.
Having finished crow-scaring for that season, I was set
looking after the cows, to see that they did not get out
of the field, and take them home in the evening to be
milked. This I continued to do all the summer.

In 1856, I entered upon my first harvest. During the
wheat-cutting I made bonds for the binders. There were
no reaping machines in those days, the corn all having
to be cut by the scythe. Women were engaged to tie
up the corn, and the little boys made bonds with which
to tie the corn. For this work I received 3d. per day,
or at the rate of is. 6d. per week.

When the wheat was carted I led the horse and shouted
to the loaders to hold tight when the horse moved. When
this work was finished and there was nothing further
for me to do, I went gleaning with my mother. In those
days it was the custom for the poor to glean the wheat-
fields after they had been cleared. This was a help to
the poor, for it often provided them with a little bread
during the winter months, when they would not have had
half enough to eat had it not been that they were allowed
to glean. The men used to thresh the corn with a flail,
dress it and clean it, and send it to the mill to be ground
into meal. The rules for gleaning were very amusing.
No one was allowed in the field while there was a sheaf
of corn there, and at a given hour the farmer would open
the gate and remove the sheaf, and shout "All on." If
anyone went into the field before this was done the rest
would " shake " the corn she had gleaned.

A WAGE EARNER 25

This was a happy time for the women and children.
At the conclusion of the harvest they would have what
was called a gleaners' frolic. In the year to which I am
referring, after harvest, I went keeping cows until the
autumn, working for a farmer named Thomas Whighten.
At the next wheat-sowing I was again put to scaring crows,
and when this was finished I was set to work cleaning
turnips, and what cold hands I had when the snow was
on the ground ! And what suffering from backache !
Those who know anything about this class of work may
judge how hard it was for a child of six and a half years.
My mother did all she could to help me. She would get
up in the morning and make a little fire over which to boil
some water. With this she would soak a little bread
and a small piece of butter. This would constitute my
breakfast. For dinner I had, day after day for weeks,
nothing but two slices of bread, a small piece of cheese,
and an apple or an onion.

In the spring I left this employer and went with my
father to work in the brickfield for a Mr. John Hewlett,
the leading farmer, who had about two years before put
my father into prison for taking home turnips, but after
a time had set him on again. This farmer used to have
bricks made in the summer, and my father was set to make
them, he having learned this trade when young. In
fact, my family for generations were brickmakers as
well as agricultural labourers. Being then barely seven
years of age, my daily task was made easier by my father,
and I had not to go to work until after breakfast. My
father, however, had to be up very early, as brickmaking
in those days was very hard work. I was just man
enough to wheel away eight bricks at a time. The summer
being ended, I helped my father to feed bullocks. In
the spring of 1858 I again went into the brickfield, and
during the following winter was set cleaning turnips by
Mr. Howlett. By this time my wages were raised to
as. per week. Well can I remember the many sore

26 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

backs I had given me by the old steward, who never
missed an opportunity to thrash me if I did not clean
enough turnips. I might say I do not think I ever
forgave this old tyrant for his cruelty to me. The
treatment I received was no exception to the rule, all
poor boys in those days were treated badly. One farmer
I knew used to hang the poor boys up by the heels and
thrash them on the slightest provocation, and the parents
dare not say anything. Had my father complained of the
treatment to his son he would have been discharged.

In the spring of 1859 I was set to work as a horseman.
This was a new experience to me, but afterwards I was
to become an efficient workman, having a liking for horses
from the very first. My first job as a horseman was to
lead the fore-horse in the drill, and many times the first
day the horse trod on my feet. My next job was rolling,
and I then thought I was a man, having for the first
time a pair of reins in my hands. This change of work
brought me another 6d. a week increase in my wages.
By the next spring (1860) I was so far improved that I
was set to plough, and on April 7th of that year some-
thing happened which caused me to change my employ-
ment. The old steward, to whom I have previously
referred, rode up by the side of the horses and struck
me on the knuckles because I was not ploughing straight
enough. I at once swore at him and told him I would
pay him out for that treatment when I became a man.
He forthwith got down from his horse, took me on his
knee, and thrashed me until I was black. I, however,
got a little of my own back. I kicked him in the face
until he was black, and then ran home and told my mother
what had happened. She at once went after the steward,
pulled his whiskers and slapped his face. For this she
was summoned, and was fined 55. and costs or fourteen
days' hard labour. The fine was paid by a friend.

I soon found another job with a Mr. Charles Jones and
rapidly improved in my work. I was kept using horses,

A WAGE EARNER 27

taking a delight in my work, and soon became, although
very young, quite an expert in ploughing. The head
team-man was a nice fellow, and took a great interest
in me, and taught me all he knew about horses. I worked
for this man about four years, and then left because he
would not pay me more than 2s. gd. a week ! I next
went to work for three old bachelors by the names of
Needham, William and James Watts, who lived together
near to my home. I helped one of them to look after their
team of five horses. They also took great interest in
me, and here I was taught all kinds of skilled work on
the farm, including drilling, stacking and thatching. I
worked for them about three years, and by the time I
left my wages had risen to about 6s. per week, mother
taking 45. for my board and allowing me 2s. with which
to buy clothes and for pocket-money.

I might say by this time the condition of the family
had very much improved. My elder brothers had grown
up and left home. My mother by her hand-loom weaving
had managed to clear off the debts which had been con-
tracted while the children were small. It showed the
honesty of these poor people.

I left my work just before harvest because of my em-
ployers not being willing to give me enough for my harvest.
This was in 1866. I then decided I would leave home.
This was the first time my mother chided me for leaving
my work, and I have thought since she was right.

I obtained work during the harvest serving the thatcher
at Summerfield, near Docking, Norfolk, which was about
thirty miles from my home. After harvest I stayed on
the farm and looked after the seventh team of horses.
A Mr. Freeman had the farm, which was a much larger
one than I had ever worked on before. It consisted of
1,000 acres, and one field was 212 acres in extent. The
men on the farm did not like me staying. There was a
good bit of clannishness about them, and they did not

28 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

like people coming from other parts of the county to
work in their district.

Hence the men in the other stables did not treat me
kindly and often endeavoured to steal my corn. I had,
however, been taught a great deal about horses by my
eldest brother, who was a stud-groom and well trained
in the medical treatment of horses. I was therefore
able to treat my horses in such a way that they looked
better than any of the others. My employer and the
other men did not know my secret, and the latter, not
being able to out-do me in this direction, tried to beat
me at work. I mention this merely to show the state of
ignorance the men were in. In these days, I am happy
to say, there is a much better spirit amongst the labourers.

I decided, however, not to stay there more than the
year, and on October n, 1867, I left and returned to my
own home. I obtained a job as a team-man with a farmer
of the name of Thomas Blyth, at a farm called Botnay
Bay. I lived in and received a wage of 2s. per week,
with board and lodging, and had to feed and groom five
horses. Here I increased my efficiency as a horseman
and workman. My employer, though an old tyrant,
did put me to all kinds of work. I was set to drill and
at the harvest to stack and thatch. The thatching I
followed for several years after I left my regular work as
a farm hand. I stayed at this place until 1869, when
an unhappy affair happened that caused me to leave
my farm work for some few years. This farmer had
threatened to thrash me and my fellow worker several
times. My colleague's name was Sam Spanton. One
day when we were at plough he came and accused us of
stopping at the end of the field. With an oath I denied
this and called him a liar. He thereupon struck me
with his clenched fist and knocked me down. As I got
up I struck him on the side of the head with my whip-
stalk and knocked him down. I at once got on to him
and struck him with my fist. My colleague came to my

A WAGE EARNER 29

assistance, and between the two of us, after a rough
tussle, we thus far came off victorious, for he never again
attempted to hit us. This, however, finished us with
this employer. This affair took place in the last week
in March 1869, and I obtained work for the summer on
a brickfield at Bessingham.

It was, however, a turning-point in my life, greatly
to the delight of my mother, for I had begun to adopt
rather bad habits whilst in this man's employ. I had
taken to snaring hares and catching rabbits and selling
them for pocket-money. I had also begun to visit the
public-houses, although I never got drunk. This caused
my saintly mother some anxious moments.

On leaving this employer I attended a little Primitive
Methodist chapel one Sunday evening, when a very earnest
lay-preacher, by name Samuel Harrison, was preaching.
He took for his text : " How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation ? " His sermon was a thoroughly
orthodox one, and it certainly did appeal to me, and I
was led to see I had not been pursuing a right course.
I became what we used to call in those days " saved,"
but which I term now the spiritual forces coming into
contact with the forces of evil, which up till then were
completely controlling my life, and which, had I not been
brought under the influence of the Eternal Spirit at this
particular time, might have altered the whole course of
my life.

I at once embraced the simple faith of Christ as the
Great Saviour of man, although in a rather different light
then to what I do now. But I continued to maintain
my faith in Christ as the Eternal Son of God, and as
the Great Leader and Saviour of men, and in the principles
of righteousness advocated by Him as the true solution
for all the evils affecting humanity.

I still love my Church, and I remain a loyal supporter
of that great section of the Methodist Church, namely
the Primitive Methodists, which has during the last

30 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

hundred years done so much for the uplifting of the toiling
masses of England, and brought light and comfort into
thousands of homes. The faith I then embraced created
within me new ideals on life and, although an illiterate
and uneducated youth, I became very thoughtful and most
strict in my habits, thinking I had to give up everything
I had hitherto indulged in.

CHAPTER III
EDUCATION AT LAST

IN the spring of 1870 I went to work in a brickfield at
Alby. Here I met a woman who was to play a wonderful
part in my future life. Her name was Charlotte Corke,
daughter of the late Mr. James Corke of that parish.
She herself had felt the pinch of poverty, being the
youngest child of nine.

We became engaged, and on June 21, 1872, we married
at Alby Church. A record of this event is still to be
found in the church register.

At this time I was given a note of liberty by the Aylsham
Primitive Methodist Circuit Quarterly Meeting, permitting
me to speak in their chapels, and I was appointed to
accompany two accredited lay-preachers by the names
of Edward Gladden and James Applegate. This continued
for two quarters, after which my name appeared on the
plan of preachers. In October of the same year I re-
turned to my former employment, agriculture, obtaining
a situation with Mr. James Rice of Oulton. I hired a
cottage at Oulton, which is near Aylsham (Norfolk),
where we lived for the first seven years of our married
life. I worked for Mr. Rice for two years, when a dispute
arose over the right to stop work for breakfast, and I
left and again returned to brickmaking, and went to work
at Blickling, about a mile and a half from my home,
which distance I walked morning and night. Mr. James
Applegate was the contracter and foreman on this yard,
on which was manufactured all kinds of ware. My fore-

32 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

man was quite a skilled tradesman and he took great
interest in me and set me to manufacture all kinds of
ware, and he also taught me the art of burning the ware.
I stayed with him about five years, when, by his assistance,
I obtained a situation as brick-burner with a Mr. John
Cook of Thwaite Hall and, on October n, 1879, I moved
to Alby Hill into one of my employer's cottages.

The September Quarterly Meeting of 1872 of the
Aylsham Primitive Methodist Circuit decided that my
name should appear on the preachers' plan as an " Ex-
horter," and I was planned to take my first service on the
third Sunday in October of that year.

Up to this time I could not read, I merely knew my
letters, but I set myself to work. My dear wife came to
my rescue and undertook to teach me to read. For the
purposes of this first service she helped me to commit
three hymns to memory and also the first chapter of the
Gospel according to St. John. It was a big task, but she
accomplished it, and this is how it was done. When I
returned home from work after tea she would get the
hymn-book, read the lines out, and I would repeat them
after her. This was repeated until I had committed the
whole hymn to memory.

My first three were good old Primitive Methodist
hymns. The opening verse of the first hymn I learned
was : —

Hark, the Gospel news is sounding,

Christ has suffered on the tree.
Streams of mercy are abounding,
Grace for all is rich and free.

Now, poor sinner,
Look to Him who died for thee.

The second hymn was :—

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's veins ;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood.

Lose all their guilty stains.

EDUCATION AT LAST 33

The third hymn was : —

Stop, poor sinner, stop and think

Before you further go.
Will you sport upon the brink

Of everlasting woe ?
On the verge of ruin stop,
Now the friendly warning take,
Stay your footsteps or you'll drop

Into the burning lake.

The last hymn does not appear in the present-day
Primitive Methodist hymnal. Needless to say, I have
long ceased to use the hymn. It was too horrible for
my humanitarian spirit. I might say that at my first
service I was not quite sure that I held the book the
right way up, as I was not quite certain of the figures. I
had, however, committed the hymns to memory correctly,
and also the lesson, and I made no mistakes. In those
days we used to give out the hymns two lines at a time,
as very few people could read, and they could possibly
remember the two lines. There was no musical instru-
ment in many of the small village chapels at that time.
My wife went with me to my first appointment and listened.
My first text was taken from the first chapter of John :
" Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin
of the world." I would not like to say the sermon was
a very intellectual one. It was, however, well thought
out as far as my limited knowledge would allow me to
do so, and in preparing it I had the assistance of my wife.
We had spent nights in thinking it out, and it certainly
was orthodox in the extreme. I made rapid progress
with my education under the tutorship of my wife, who
would sit up very late at night to teach me. She would
sit on one side of the fireplace and I on the other. I
would spell out the words and she would tell me their
pronunciation.

By the time the next plan came out I could just
manage to read my lesson and hymns, but not until I

3

34 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

had gone through them many times with my wife and
had mistakes rectified.

One interesting little incident occurred about this time.
I went to an appointment one Sunday about eight miles
from my home. A brother lay-preacher was planned
at the chapel in an adjoining village, hence we travelled
most of the way together. Coming home it was very
dark, and we had to travel some distance by a footpath
across some meadows. We lost ourselves ! I told my
companion to follow me, but it turned out that it was a
case of the blind leading the blind, for no sooner had I
instructed my companion than we both walked into a
ditch up to our knees in water, and had to walk the rest
of the way home with wet feet ! This was not the day
of bicycles nor yet horse-hire. The circuit to which I
was attached was very large, and for many years I walked
sixteen miles on the Sunday, conducted two services,
and reached home at eleven o'clock at night. Whatever
may have been our weaknesses in those days, it must
be admitted we were enthusiastic and devoted to the
cause we advocated. No sacrifice was too great.

Having once learned to read, I became eager for know-
ledge. Until then I possessed only a Bible and hymn-
book and two spelling-books. But I had no money to
buy other books. My wife and I talked it over, and I
decided I would give up smoking and purchase books
with the money saved. I was then smoking 2 oz. of
tobacco a week, which in those days cost 6d. This did
not seem much, but it was £i 6s. a year. It was a great
sacrifice to me to give up smoking, for I did enjoy my
pipe. I had, however, a thirst for knowledge, and no
sacrifice was too great to satisfy my longing. My first
purchase was Johnson's Dictionary, two volumes of
The Lay-preacher, which contained outlines of sermons,
Harvey's Meditations among the Tombs and Contemplation
of the Starry Heavens, a Bible dictionary, and a History of

EDUCATION AT LAST 35

Rome. These I bought second-hand from Mr. James
Applegate, who was a great reader. The Lay-preacher
1 used extensively for some years, and it certainly did
help me for the first few years. I ultimately discarded
the two volumes and relied upon my own resources, and
I should advise every young man with the advantage of
education, who is thinking of engaging in such great and
good work, never to use such books, for it is far better
for him to think out subjects for himself and store his
mind well with knowledge.

The different Primitive Methodist services of my early
days would be out of date now, and the quaint sayings
of those days, though effective then, would cause some
amount of amusement to our young educated folk of
to-day. One form of service was called a " love-feast,"
at which small pieces of bread were taken round with
water. The meeting was thrown open for anyone to
speak, and then the simple, faithful, uneducated, saintly
people, in relating what to them was Christian experience,
would express themselves in peculiar phrases. I call
to mind the statement made by a brother at one meeting
who said he felt "like a fool in a fair." At the same
meeting another said he thanked God that although that
was the first time he had attempted to speak, he was
getting used to it. Others would relate what dreadful
characters they had been and what religion had done
for them.

Although my preaching efforts did not give me entire
satisfaction, still I can look back with pleasure at some
of the results of my labours. Although uneducated and
not well informed and although I used such phrases
and put the Gospel in such a way that I should not think
for one moment of doing to-day, still it had its effect.
I can recall instances of ten and twelve of my hearers at
my Sunday services making a stand for righteousness.
Many of them in after years became stalwarts for truth.

They also soon began to be dissatisfied with the conditions

36 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

under which they worked and lived. Seeing no hope of
any improvement they migrated to the North of England,
and found work in the coalfields, and never returned to
their native county. When in Newcastle last December
I met several of my old converts and friends.

With my study of theology, I soon began to realize
that the social conditions of the people were not as God
intended they should be. The gross injustices meted
out to my parents and the terrible sufferings I had under-
gone in my boyhood burnt themselves into my soul like
a hot iron.

Many a time did I vow I would do something to better
the conditions of my class.

CHAPTER IV
PIONEERS AND VICTIMS

THE year 1872 will throughout history be considered the
most interesting period from the standpoint of the agri-
cultural labourers of England. There had been some
improvement in the condition of the labourers of England
through the increase of the purchasing power of their
wages, largely due to the abolition of the wicked Corn
Laws and the adoption of Free Trade. Moreover, agri-
culture was never more prosperous than it was from
1849 to 1872. But, despite the increase in the purchasing
power of the labourers' wage, the condition of the workers
had not improved at the same rate as agriculture had
improved. The working hours were as long as they had
been for the preceding hundred years, the labourers were
no more free to bargain with their employers than their
fathers had been for fifty years before, and there was
much discontent. In fact, the whole countryside was
seething with discontent and we were much nearer a
serious upheaval than many people thought. The farmers
were arrogant and oppressive, and the gulf between the
farmer and the labourer was greater than ever before.
The labourer had acquired a little knowledge and the
town workers were uprising. Many of the sons of the
labourers who had left agriculture since 1864, being dis-
gusted with the low wages of the labourer, had sent
glowing accounts over to their friends, and a great migra-
tion had again set in until very few young men were
left in the villages.

37

38 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Early in the year 1872 a few labourers met in the village
inn at Barford, in Warwickshire, and decided to make an
effort to form a Union. But they were without a leader,
and it was in search of such a person that they turned
their attention to Mr. Joseph Arch, who was a Primitive
Methodist lay-preacher. They waited upon him at his
residence and informed him that they wanted to form a
Union for the agricultural labourers and asked him if he
would lead them. Mr. Arch hesitated for a time, as his
clear vision could discern that it would cause a tremendous
upheaval and he was not sure of his class. After due
thought, and through the persuasive powers of Mrs. Arch,
he ultimately consented. Accordingly it was arranged
that a meeting should be held under what is now known
as the Welbourne Tree.

This meeting was attended by at least two thousand
agricultural labourers from all parts of the country, and
it was there decided to form a Union. The news of the
meeting spread rapidly throughout the country. All the
newspapers gave it prominence with such headlines as
" The Uprising of the Agricultural Labourer." Numerous
meetings were held in various parts of the country, and
in the second week in May a meeting was held on the
children's playground at Alby where I was at work.
This was a month before my marriage. I attended the
meeting. It was addressed by a local preacher, who was
an agricultural labourer, named Josiah Mills, and by
Mr. Burton from Cromer. I also spoke, although, as
stated before, I could not read. Still, I related my
experience of how I was obliged to go to work at the
age of six.

A branch of the Union was formed and I became a
member. But, as Mr. Arch had foreseen, trouble soon
arose, for this new movement met with the most bitter
opposition.

Labourers were discharged by the hundred. It was
evident that the farmers were bent on crushing the move-

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 39

ment in its infancy. Many labourers who lived in their
employers' cottages were victimized and turned out into
the road. One case which personally came to my notice
was that of a poor man and his wife and family who were
turned out on to the road with all their furniture and a
friendly publican took them in. Scores of farmers locked
their men out because they would not give up their Union
cards.

This threw Mr. Arch on to his beam ends, as he and
his men had no previous knowledge of Trade Unionism.
Happily for him and the movement generally a leading
Trade Unionist by the name of Mr. Henry Taylor paid
Arch a visit and offered him all the help possible. This
brought help from other Trade Unionists.

In Norfolk we were specially favoured, as the proprietors
of the Norfolk News and the Norwich Mercury (the latter
one of the country's earliest newspapers) opened the
columns of the Eastern Weekly Press and the Peoples'
Weekly Journal respectively to Labour news. Thus the
news of the Union spread rapidly and the story was told
of the uprising of the agricultural labourer. Hundreds of
meetings were held in Norfolk as well as in other counties,
branches of the Union were formed everywhere, and
within six months 150,000 labourers had joined some
Union. It must be remarked that in the first six
months the branches formed were all independent
Unions.

During the summer Arch, with the help of Mr. Taylor,
drew up a list of rules and called a conference of the
branches formed in the Warwick district, at which it was
decided to form a National Union, its central office to
be at Leamington. Mr. Arch was elected President and
was sent on a mission throughout the country to explain
the rules. Arch soon gathered around him a number
of persons who were prominent in the political world,
including the late Sir Charles Dilke, Howard Evans,
John Bright, George Mitchell, and a host of others.

40 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Among those in Norfolk who rallied to Arch were the
late Mr. Z. Walker, who remained a faithful follower to
the end, the late Mr. Lane of Swaffham, the late Mr.
Colman, the late Mr. George Rix, and Mr. George Pilgrim.
But all the branches did not join with Mr. Arch. Kent
and Sussex formed a Union of their own, which became
very strong in those two counties. Lincolnshire also
formed a Union and it became known as the " Lincolnshire
Amalgamated Labour League." A Mr. Banks became
its General Secretary. This Union gained considerable
support in Norfolk and had several strong branches
in the county, and among its warm supporters were
the late Mr. James Applegate of Aylsham, the late
Mr. James Ling of Cromer and Mr. James Dennis of
Hempton.

All these Unions grew in strength, but unfortunately a
spirit of rivalry grew up between them and much mischief
was done.

My first acquaintance with Arch was at Aylsham in
September 1872, when he came over to explain the code
of rules drawn up by the Warwickshire Committee and
to invite the branch there to join the Union. The
meeting was held in Aylsham Town Hall, which was
packed. All in the audience were, however, not in sym-
pathy with the movement. There were several farmers
present.

One farmer asked Arch if his mother knew he was out ?

Quick as lightning came the retort : " Yes," replied
Arch, " and she sent me out to buy a fool. Are you
for sale ? "

That was just such an answer as the farmer who asked
the foolish question deserved. He had, however, no
further opportunity of asking questions, for he was
soon roughly handled and was promptly thrown out of
the hall.

There were many strikes and lock-outs during the first

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 41

nine months of this uprising of the labourers. The greatest
opposition was raised by the farmers.

I was involved in a strike in the first year of the Union's
existence. Although only just twenty-two years of
age and recently married and unable to read, I became
greatly interested in the movement and never lost a chance
of attending a Union meeting.

The first general demand we made for an increase in
wages took place in March 1873. We asked that wages
should be increased from us. to 135. a week, so far as
Norfolk was concerned, and this demand was granted.
It had never reached that figure before. This gave a
great stimulus to the movement generally. The Aylsham
branch of which I was a member decided not to join
Arch's Union, but joined the Lincolnshire Amalgamated
League, which governed on the principle of each district
holding its own funds and paying a quarterly levy to
the central fund, on the same principle which obtained
with the Oddfellows and Foresters Friendly Societies.
The next great struggle was in the spring of 1874, when a
demand was made for another 2s. increase and time off
for breakfast. Up to that time we were not allowed to
stop for breakfast, and we had no food from tea-time
the previous day until dinner-time the next day. Many
farmers allowed the concession but others would not.
The man I worked for at Oulton, Mr. James Rice, was one
of the latter, although a member and a deacon of the
Congregational Church in that village. We adopted all
kinds of methods to snatch time to eat our piece of
bread. Scores of times I have held the plough with
one hand and eaten the bread with the other. Others,
when a number were working together, would set one
to watch to see if the boss came while they ate their
bread.

This demand was hotly contested and I became in-
volved and struck work. Fortunately for me I had another
trade at my back, namely brickmaking. There was a

42 PROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

great call for brickmakers at this time and I obtained work
at once with James Applegate at Blickling, himself a
leader of the Amalgamated Labour League, so I had not
to call on the funds of the Union at all and I did not
go back to farm work for several years. During these
two years I had made rapid progress with my education,
and I was so far advanced that I could begin to read a
newspaper. I had, however, not been in ignorance of
happenings in the world around me, for my wife had
always read to me the weekly papers. The first news-
papers I read were the Eastern Weekly Press and the
People's Weekly Journal, the two local papers. I had,
however, not spoken at a Labour meeting since the first
meeting was held two years before, but I had been on the
preachers' plan for two years and had begun to have a
little confidence in myself. I at once begun to speak at
local labour meetings.

The strike going on at this time was successful, and the
village labourer in Norfolk for the first time in his history
received his 2s. 6d. per day and the right to stop for
breakfast.

But the great struggle began as soon as this was settled.
The farmers of Suffolk at once locked their men out,
not on the question of wages, but because the men would
not give up their Union cards. Some four thousand
men were locked out and thrown on to the funds of the
various Unions. Arch and others visited the large centres
of industry and over £20,000 was collected for the funds.
Religious services were held on the Sundays and spiritual
addresses given. I at once threw myself into this kind
of work, although only a young man of twenty-four years
of age, and in the village in which I then lived, Oulton,
I preached my first Labour sermons. My soul burned
with indignation at the gross cruelty inflicted on my
parents and the hardships I had undergone, and I became
determined to fulfil the vow I had made when quite a
lad, namely, to do all I could to alter the conditions under

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 43

which the labourers lived. I was, however, most anxious
to ensure myself that I was doing the right thing from a
religious point of view, and again by the assistance of
my dear wife I searched the Scriptures and soon was able
to satisfy myself I was doing the right thing. Then,
as now, to me the Labour movement was a most sacred
thing and, try how one may, one cannot divorce Labour
from religion.

I found work when the strike took place with Mr.
James Applegate, who was many years my senior and
himself a leader in the Labour League and an advanced
politican, although he possessed no vote. He had posted
himself up in Radical politics, for in those days we only
knew two political parties. Anyway, I had a real political
schoolmaster, and my first political lessons were of the
Liberal school of thought. I set myself to work hard in
the study of political questions and got possessed of every
scrap of political information. My means would not
allow me to purchase literature, but I soon became a most
ardent Liberal.

Soon after the great struggle of 1874 the labourers
began to lose interest in the various Unions. Many of
the young men again left the villages and either migrated
to the North of England or emigrated to America. I
still kept up my political studies and at the same time,
by the assistance of Mr. Applegate, I became skilled in
the work in which I was then engaged. I kept with Mr.
Applegate for five years. i

It was in 1880 that my father died.

In October 1879 I obtained a situation with the late
Mr. John Cook of Twaite Hall as brickmaker and
burner, and moved into part of an old farmhouse at Alby
Hill. One of the conditions of employment was that
I should take the work by contract ; that I should raise
the earth, make the bricks and burn them at los. per
thousand, the employer finding all tools and coal for

44 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

burning. Further, whilst I was not so engaged he was
to find me work as a farm labourer. I also undertook
to do my harvest on the farm. On leaving Oulton I
was out of the reach of the Union to which I then belonged.

I then joined Arch's Union and became an active
member. I got along very well with my employer for
some few years, but in 1885 an agitation arose for the
granting of the franchise to the agricultural labourers
and all rural workers. I at once threw myself into the
movement and spoke at many meetings. I had become
fairly well educated by this time by hard study. I was,
however, laying up in store for myself some serious trouble,
for my employer was a bigoted Tory.

The franchise was introduced into the House of Commons
by Mr. Gladstone, who was then Prime Minister, and
was met with bitter opposition by the Conservatives.
As stated previously, a great campaign was commenced
in which I took a leading part, this greatly enraging
the local Tories. After my speech at a meeting one night
in March 1895 my employer came to me at my work and
in a most autocratic manner said he had been informed
that I had been speaking at some Liberal meetings and
demanded to know if this was true ? I at once replied
that it was true. His reply to that was that if I wished to
remain a man of his I should have to give that kind of
thing up, for he would not have any man of his attending
such meetings, setting class against class. The fighting
spirit that I inherited from my mother at once rose and
I replied in dignified language that much as I respected
him as an employer, I respected my liberty a great deal
more and could not on any condition comply with his
request. Further, I considered so long as I did my work
satisfactorily and did not neglect it in any way and led
an honest and straightforward life, neither he nor anyone
else had any right to dictate how I spent my evenings.
I should therefore claim my liberty as a citizen. He
had no arguments to use against this, but said I would

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 45

have to leave. It was then that my spirit of indepen-
dence was put to the test. I was not long in deciding,
and I told him at once I should take his notice, for my
whole soul revolted against such tyranny. This seemed
to stagger him, for it was the first time his authority
had been challenged in such a way. As soon as he had
time to recover himself, he asked when I wished the notice
to expire. I told him not until I had finished my contract,
for I had already raised sufficient earth to make 100,000
bricks and I should complete that before I left. He in-
sisted that he would force me to leave at once. I told
him to try and put the threat into execution and I would
sue him for breach of contract. Again he was com-
pletely taken back and asked me if I meant it ? I told
him I did and defied him to break the contract. He at
once saw he was in the wrong and said : " Very well,
finish your contract." I replied that I intended to and
then he could carry out his threat. Being thwarted in
this direction he thought he would hit me in another
way.

My wife's mother was a widow and was living with
me. The Guardians allowed her 2s. 6d. per week. My
employer was a member of that Board, which at once
took 6d. a week off her relief. My victimization was
made known throughout the country. I at once in-
formed the leaders of the Union, and also the Liberal
Party, and this act of political tyranny was denounced
on every Liberal and Labour platform. Coming at a
time when the labourers were about to be enfranchised
it caused quite a stir in the country.

I was offered by the Liberals an organizing and lecturing
position, but this I declined, as, having insisted upon
finishing my contract, I did not intend giving the Tories
an opportunity to say I had broken it. Further, I
had no wish to give up manual labour, nor had I confi-
dence in myself that I could do the work. I felt I was
not sufficiently educated or well informed to do that

46 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

kind of work ; thus I kept at my brickmaking. Into
this I put more energy than I think I had ever done
before. It was a fine season and I was able to turn out
a better class of brick than in previous seasons. At the
same time I attended as many political meetings in the
evenings as I could and I also read every bit of literature
I could get hold of.

During the summer the Franchise Bill, coupled with a
Redistribution Bill, was passed, and for the first time in
English history the agricultural labourers were enfran-
chised. Norfolk was mapped out into six single-member
rural constituencies. Where I lived became known as
North Norfolk. It became evident that there would be
a General Election in November, and that by the time
I had finished my contract the election would be near.
This the leading Tories appeared to advise my employer
would put him into a very awkward position, for he had
not only given me notice to leave my employment, but
also my house on October nth. Hence he came to me
in July and said he wished to withdraw both notices
and wished all misunderstanding to cease. After con-
sultation with some of my friends I accepted the offer.
I was, however, never satisfied, although the offer to
withdraw the notices was genuine as the following corre-
spondence will show.

In July I received the following letter from the late
Mr. Charles Louis Buxton, who was the then leader of
the Liberal Party in North Norfolk :—

BOLWICK HALL, AYLSHAM,

July 20, 1885.
DEAR MR. EDWARDS,

I was delighted to hear yesterday that your employer
had withdrawn his notice for you to leave your work and house,
and hope everything will go on smoothly and that you will be
quite happy and that we shall have no more of this kind of victimi-
gation,

Yours truly,

C. L. BUXTON,

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 47

I replied as follows : —

CHARLES Louis BUXTON, ESQ., J.P.
BOLWICK HALL, AYLSHAM.

DEAR SIR,

I thank you for yours of the 2oth re my employment.
I must confess I do not derive the same satisfaction from the with-
drawal of the notice as you appear to do. Although it was with-
drawn unconditionally, each of us to be free to go our own way,
I feel convinced when the election is over he will find some excuse
to get rid of me.

Nevertheless, I will stand by my principles, come what may.

Yours sincerely,

GEORGE EDWARDS.

I finished my season's work fairly early, and I think
I earned more money than I had ever done before. Having
finished my season's work, I returned to my farm work
as before.

In October the election started in all earnestness. For
three weeks I addressed six meetings a week. This I
might say was all voluntary work, as I kept at my daily
employment all the time, being determined not to absent
myself from work one hour.

Mr. Herbert Cozens-Hardy, who afterwards became
Lord Cozens-Hardy, Master of the Rolls, and whose son
and heir was in after years by a strange coincidence to
be my opponent in my first bid for parliamentary honours,
was chosen Liberal candidate for North Norfolk. Mr.
Joseph Arch was selected Liberal and Labour candidate
for North-West Norfolk, Mr. Robert Gurdon was chosen
Liberal candidate for Mid-Norfolk, Sir William Brampton
Gurdon for South-West Norfolk, and a Mr. Falk for
East Norfolk. After a most hotly contested election,
Mr. Cozens-Hardy beat his opponent, Sir Samuel Hoare,
by over 1,700 majority. Mr. Arch and Mr. Robert
Gurdon were also elected by good majorities, whilst Sir
Brampton Gurdon and Mr. Falk were defeated.

The election being over, things quieted down and, so

48 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

far as I was concerned, nothing untoward happened.
My employer and myself appeared to be on very good
terms. Early in the new year, 1886, when I asked him
for my orders as usual, he informed me that he should
not make any bricks that year, as there were a good
many standing on the ground and there was not much
sale for them. As a matter of fact there were not many
bricks on the ground, not so many by 20,000 as there
were the year before when he gave me the order to make
100,000 and, further, when there was a prospect of a
greater sale than in the previous year. A few weeks later
I received notice to leave the farm work, and on April 6th
I was served with another six months' notice to leave
my cottage. Thus the fear I had expressed to Mr. Buxton
nine months before became true, and proved that he
only withdrew the previous notice to save himself from
the law against intimidation.

I obtained work for the season's brickmaking with
Mr. Emery at Stibbard. Strange to relate, before my
notice expired to leave the cottage, my landlord and late
employer died. He had not been dead more than a month
before his brother, Mr. Herbert Cook, who was heir to
the estate, called at my house in my absence and informed
my wife that he should carry out his brother's notice.
Now came the difficulty of getting another house, and it
looked for some time as if I should go homeless. I
first hired a cottage at Colby on the Gunton estate, but
before I could move into it it was let with the farm, and
of course, being an agitator, I could not have it. Thus
within a few weeks of October nth I had no prospect
of a home. It was then that a friend came along in
the person of Mr. Horace Car, who lived at Wickmere.
He had hired a little farm in another village and did
not want his cottage at Wickmere and sub-let it to me.

The election of 1885 was doomed not to stand long.
Mr, Gladstone introduced his Irish Home Rule Bill,

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 49

which caused a terrible split in the ranks of the Liberal
Party, and in July 1886 the Government was defeated
and a General Election took place. Mr. Cozens-Hardy
again came forward. This time his opponent was Mr.
Ailwyn Fellowes, now Lord Ailwyn of Honingham, a
gentleman whom I hold in the highest esteem and who
has done me the honour of writing a foreword to this
book. Mr. Arch was this time fought by Lord Henry
Bentinck, who defeated him by twenty votes. At this
election I was brought a great deal into Mr. Arch's com-
pany whilst working in his division. I attended several
of his meetings and spoke for him. I remember being
with him at one meeting during the election when we
spoke from a wagon standing close to a pond. During
the proceedings a young farmer rode into the company
and endeavoured to strike at Arch with his whip-stalk.
No sooner did he do this than he was unhorsed and ducked
in the pond, greatly to his discomfort. This, I should
think, he never forgot.

Mr. Arch and I were destined in after years to work
together in one common cause, although, unfortunately,
we were to belong to two different Unions. Most of
the meetings I attended in this election were in my
division and, smarting under the gross injustice that
had been meted out to me, I spoke out very strongly.
My victimization had created a bitter feeling in the
division, and some very exciting scenes occurred during
the election. At one of these meetings, after being inter-
rupted by one or two of the most ignorant Tory farmers,
I prophesied that after the election the Tory political
victimisers would be politically dead and on their political
tombstone would be written the following epitaph : —

HERE LAY THE PARTY THAT NEVER DID ANY GOOD
AND, IF THEY HAD LIVED, THEY NEVER WOULD.

This naturally caused a great deal of laughter, but
my enthusiasm for the cause I then believed to be right

4

50 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

had somewhat blinded me to the fact that the wheels
of human progress move very slowly and that my whole
life would have to be spent before Democracy would
come into its own. Let me remark that fate sometimes
seems to be cruel. It was the son of the very man on whose
behalf I suffered so much and for whom I worked so hard
to secure his return at least in three elections who fought
me in after years in South Norfolk when I stood for
Parliament the first time ! I thought at the time it
was rather an ungracious act.

Well, this election went badly for the Liberals in the
country and the Tories were returned to power with a
majority of 100.

Some hard times were in store for me. At the end of
the season my work at Stibbard also ended. I moved
to Wickmere, but no one in the district would employ
me, although I was an efficient workman. I was a horrible
Radical, setting class against class ! Strange to relate,
in those days the Liberals were looked upon as being
out for destruction. To be a Liberal was looked upon
as belonging to a most discreditable party. They were
classed as infidels, wanting to pull down Church and
State, and disloyal to Queen and Country.

To-day the same things are said about the Labour
Party. We of the Party are called all kinds of names.
But those who make the statements know they are
untrue.

I tried everywhere to get employment, but none could
I find.

At last Mr. Ketton of Felbrigg Hall offered to find
me work on his home farm, but he had no cottage to
offer me. Felbrigg was six miles from Wickmere. I
accepted the employment and for eighteen months or
more I walked night and morning this six miles, a journey
of twelve miles every day ! Whilst living here my wife's
mother died. I had kept her for sixteen years, her only
income being parish relief. In 1878 Mr. Ketton found

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 51

me a cottage at Aylmerton and I settled down comfort-
ably once again as a farm labourer.

At this time agriculture was sorely depressed. The
labourer's wage was rapidly being reduced and reached
the miserably low figure of los. per week, and in some
districts 93. per week. The labourers had left their
Unions and were in a most helpless position. This was
brought about by many causes, one being the great
falling out amongst the leaders. Arch had the mis-
fortune to fall out with all his best supporters. Mr.
Henry Taylor resigned his position as General Secretary.
Mr. Howard Evans and Mr. George Mitchell had left
him. Mr. George Rix of Swanton Morley had resigned,
and he took with him a large district and formed a Union
which he called the Federal Union. In fact, in every
county, with the exception of Norfolk, the Unions became
defunct. The Kent and Sussex Union went smash, the
Lincolnshire and Amalgamated Labour League became
defunct, and all that remained of Arch's Union were
a few members belonging to the sick benefit department,
the funds of which were being fast depleted.

Under these circumstances the political power placed
in the hands of the labourers but further enslaved them
and made them easy victims for the Tory party. Happily
for me I had at last got under a Liberal employer, who
not only was favourable to the men, but showed his
sympathy with them by paying them is. per week above
the rate paid by other employers, and I was able to breathe
freely without any fear of victimization. My employer
also assisted me by lending me books and papers on
political problems. He also put every kind of work
on the farm in my way to enable me to earn extra money.
I at once settled down to study even more closely than
I had done before. Thirsting for knowledge, religious,
social and political, I set about adding to my library.
I became a close student of theology and took great
interest in many of the theological subjects which were

52 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

disturbing the Christian world at that period, such as
the doctrine of eternal punishment, and I soon became
what was known then as a Liberal in theology. When
I purchased a new book, I never read any other until
I had read it through and thought the matter out for
myself. I never accepted a thing as a fact just because
someone else said it was so. Included in the new works
I bought at this time were Canon Farrar's Life of Christ,
the same author's Eternal Hope, Dr. Dale's work on
Conditional Immortality, Mr. Robertson's book entitled
Eternal Punishment, not Eternal Torments. I also read
very closely Dr. Parker's books. Taking the other side,
I also became a regular reader of the weekly periodical
the Christian Commonwealth, which was published about
this time to counteract what they termed the heterodoxy
of the Christian World, Strange to say, this paper became
a thousand times more heterodox than the Christian
World ever could be, for it became a strong advocate
of the Rev. R. J. Campbell's New Theology.

My close study of these matters marked me out for
trouble. In fact, Job's description of man seemed to
apply to me in every respect, for I seemed to be born
to trouble as the sparks fly upward. I was called up
before the Quarterly Meeting of my Church for what
some of the elder brethren termed heterodoxical preaching
and I was regarded as almost an infidel. Never, however,
was a more false accusation made against anyone, for
my faith in the eternal Truths was never stronger. But
I had a strong supporter in my friend Mr. James Apple-
gate, who himself was a progressive in thought, and the
matter blew over and I was left to go on in my own way.

At this time there was a deal of discussion on the
Single Tax Movement as advocated by Henry George.
I became interested in this and purchased his books on
social problems, Protection or Free Trade, Progress and
Poverty and The Condition of Labour. These I closely
read, sitting up late at night. Many a time have I gone

PIONEERS AND VICTIMS 53

out at eleven o'clock at night and wiped my eyes with
the dew of the grass in an endeavour to keep myself
awake. I managed to get through all these books during
the winter and became a convert to the principles con-
tained therein, and thus became an advanced thinker
on political and social questions. I think Henry George's
books did more to mould my thought on social questions
than those of any other writer. About this time I also pur-
chased Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and Thorold Roger's
Six Centuries of Work and Labour. These I soon mastered
in all their details. I was thus enabled to take a very
broad view on all matters pertaining to Labour and was
able to see more clearly the cause of all the gross injustice
that was inflicted on my class. I became convinced
that if there was a revival in the Labour movement
amongst the rural workers, the leaders would have to
lift the men's thoughts above the question of the mere
raising of wages and would have to take political action
and seek to remove the great hindrance to man's progress.
I made one mistake. I thought and was convinced
that the Liberal Party would do these things, and I
was strengthened in my belief by a speech made by the
late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain about " ransoming the
land back to the people." In my political innocence I
thought all politicians were sincere. I was, however, to
live to see my faith in some people shattered.

During this year I received again one or two offers to
go on a lecturing tour, all of which I declined. I was
not, however, to remain in the shade and inactive long.
The men again began to be restless and were anxious
to have another try at organizing.

CHAPTER V
DARE TO BE A UNION MAN

IN the autumn of 1889 the men in Norfolk began to want
to form a Union again. This time they appealed to me
to lead them in the district in which I lived. For some
weeks I refused to take any leading part, but was willing
to join a Union. I had only just got settled down com-
fortably after my terrible eighteen months of bitter
persecution, and was just anxious to remain quietly at
work. I had no wish to enter into the turmoil of public
life. But at last, through the men's constant pleadings,
I yielded to the pressure. On November 5, 1889, eleven
men formed a deputation and came to my house and
stated they represented a large number of men in the
district who had decided to form a Union and they wanted
me to lead them. I questioned them in order to ascer-
tain if they had seriously thought the matter over. They
assured me they had. I also informed them that in
my judgment no Union would stand which had no other
object than merely to raise wages and that they must
go in for something higher than that. I then asked them
what Union they wished to form, or did they wish to
link up with Arch's Union which was almost defunct.
They expressed a wish to form a Union on the same lines
as Mr. Rix had formed his, and I was asked to write
to Mr. Rix to come over and address one or two meetings
and explain the rules of his Union. This I did. Mr.
Rix agreed to come, and two meetings were arranged
to be held within a fortnight, one at the White Horse Inn

54

DARE TO BE A UNION MAN 55

at Cromer and the other at the Free Methodist Church
at Aylmerton. Both meetings were packed and were
addressed by George Rix and myself. Large numbers
gave in their names for membership. It was decided
to form a Union on the principle of the rules as explained
by Mr. Rix, to be called the Federal Union, Cromer
District. The objects of the Union were to be as follows :
To improve the social and moral well-being of its members ;
to assist them to secure allotments and representation on
local authorities and even in the Imperial Parliament ;
to assist members to migrate and emigrate. Ten shillings
per week to be paid in strike and victimization pay.
Legal advice to be given. Each member to pay is. per
year harvest levy to enable a member to have his harvest
money made up to him in case of a dispute. Each
member to pay a contribution of 2jd. per week, or gd.
per month, 8d. per month to be sent to the district and
id. per month to be kept by the branch for branch
management.

I was elected District Secretary, with no salary fixed
for the office. I set about the work in all earnestness,
addressing five meetings a week, and writing articles in
the weekly papers each week. I kept at my daily work
all this time, my employer, Mr. Ketton, putting nothing
in my way, allowing me to leave my work an hour early
whenever I required to do so and always allowing me to
go " one journey." I opened branches at Gresham
and Alby Hill (the very place at which I was turned out
of my house only five years before). Branches were also
opened at Aylsham, Hindolveston, Foulsham, Reepham,
Guestwick, Kelling, Southrepps, Gunthorpe, Barney,
Guist, Cawston, Bintry, and Lenwade. To many of
these places I had to walk, as there was no train service
except in a few instances and then only one way.
Numbers of the villages were ten and twelve miles from
my home. I often left a meeting at ten o'clock at night
and reached home at two o'clock in the morning. I

56 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

could not cycle in those days. This work continued for
over nine months, and during this time I enrolled over
1,000 members at no expense to the Union.

In the autumn of 1890 a general meeting of the members
was called, and this meeting decided I should become
a whole-time officer and offered me £i a week. This I
at once declined on the ground that the labourers were
only receiving ins. per week, and said I should only take
155. per week until the labourers received an increase
in their wages. From this date, greatly against my
wishes, I became a paid official of the Union. Although
at this time there was a great revival of the Union spirit,
and men were anxious to join a Union, the National
Union, of which Mr. Arch was the leader, never again took
any hold outside Norfolk. County Unions rose rapidly
in other counties under various leaders, Warwickshire
under the leadership of Mr. Ben Ryler, Wiltshire was
financed by Mr. Louis Anstie of Devizes, and Berkshire
was financed by the Misses Skirrett of Reading and led
by Mr. T. Quelch. All these were, however, short-lived.
In Norfolk we made rapid progress. Arch revived many
of his branches in North-west and East Norfolk and
progress was made by me in North Norfolk. I helped
to start a district in South Norfolk, of which Mr. Edward
James of Ditchingham became secretary. My district,
not being satisfied with its isolated position, made an
offer to the two other districts, namely, East Dereham and
Harleston, to become amalgamated in some way, and
thus enable us to become a strong force. Both, for
reasons best known to themselves, preferred to remain
independent. I, however, was convinced that we should
never be a force strong enough to meet the farmers, who
were rapidly organizing, so long as we remained little
isolated Unions. In fact, we were nothing more than
tiny rural Unions. I felt rather than continue along
those lines I would give the whole thing up, and I placed
my views before my district committee — a splendid body

DARE TO BE A UNION MAN 57

of men. They at once gave me full power to open corre-
spondence with the secretary of a Norwich Union, Mr.
Joseph Foyster, now a member of the Norwich bench
of magistrates, and the late Mr. Edward Burgess, of
" Daylight " fame, who was president of the Union,
which was started about the time our Cromer district
came into being. A conference of the two Unions was
held at the Boar's Head, Surrey Street, Norwich, and
after some discussion an agreement to amalgamate was
arrived at, each district to hold its own funds and to
pay a quarterly levy of 2d. per member to a central fund,
which was to be used as a reserve fund in case of a dispute
in either district. An Executive was elected which was
to have control of the Union. Mr. Edward Burgess was
elected president and Messrs. John Leeder, Robert Gotts,
J. Spalding, Frank Howes, Joseph Foyster and A. Day
were appointed as the Executive. A Mr. Millar of Norwich
was elected General Secretary with myself as General
Treasurer. I left my position as secretary to the Cromer
district. This arrangement did not last long. Mr. Millar
soon left the city and was never known to come back
again. I was asked to accept the position of General
Secretary, which I did. In the Cromer district the following
were amongst my most staunch supporters : Messrs.
John Leeder, James Leeder, Robert Gotts, Miles Leeder,
Edward Holsey, John Spalding, Thomas Painter and
Robert Leeder. These men stood by me until the last,
never faltering.

The amalgamation being effected and the rules drawn
up and registered, we made rapid progress. The Norwich
district boundaries were fixed east and south of Norwich.
I opened branches at Newton Flotman, Surlingham,
Crostwick, Costessey, Eaton, Lakenham, Great Plumstead,
Kirby Bedon, Rockland St. Mary, Stoke Holy Cross,
Rackheath, and Salhouse. In the two districts in twelve
months we reached 3,000 members. Arch's Union also

58 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

made progress. The late Mr. Z. Walker was his Norfolk
organizer, and that Union reached about 5,000. We
never exceeded these figures. Although there was a
spirit of rivalry between us, the utmost good feeling pre-
vailed. We never went into each other's district, and
always aimed at preventing overlapping, frequently
appearing on each other's platforms.

Although I started out with the idea of avoiding strikes,
we had not gone far before we found that was impossible.
The first struggle we had was at Hindolveston. A Mr.
Aberdeen set his men to cut some meadow grass and for
this he offered them 35. 6d. per acre. These terms the
men rejected and a lock-out took place. I was informed
and I sought an interview with the employer. This was
scornfully refused and a message was sent out to me
that if I went on to his place again he would set the dog
on to me. I indignantly replied that I expected I was
dealing with a gentleman, but regretted to find I was
dealing with a man who was not sufficiently intelligent to
treat another with respect. I also told him I was sure
that in less than a week he would send for me and that
I would then mete him out the respect he should have
shown me. This was what did happen. The men would
not consent to see him, but referred him to me. Within
a week he sent for me and I settled the dispute by making
arrangements for the men to receive 5s. per acre. That
was my first effort as a leader and peace-maker. While
the dispute lasted the men received the lock-out pay
of los. per week. The next dispute was at Great Plumstead
in the Norwich district and was of a more serious character
for one hundred men came out in a demand for is.
increase in wages. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed, but
we found we were in for a very stiff fight. The Farmers'
Federation found up a few men to fill the places of those
on strike, but we were not dismayed. Enthusiastic meet-
ings were held in every village covered by the Union,
and at these songs written by members of Arch's Union

DARE TO BE A UNION MAN 59

were used by permission of those concerned. These were
sung to well-known Sankey hymn tunes.

One favourite song sung to the tune of " Dare to be a
Daniel " was : —

Standing by a purpose true.

Heeding your command,
Honour them, the faithful men,

All hail to the Union band.

Chorus.
Dare to be a Union man,

Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known.

Another song we sung was " The Farmer's Boy " : —

The sun went down beyond the hills,

Across yon dreary moor.
Weary and lame, a boy there came

Up to a farmer's door.
" Will you tell me if any there be

That will give me employ,
To plough and sow, to reap and mow,

And be a farmer's boy ? "

Another was " The Labourer's Anthem."

The sons of Labour in the land

Are rising in their might.
In every town they nobly stand,

And battle for the right.
For long they have been trampled on

By money-making elves,
But the time is come for everyone

To rise and help themselves.

Chorus.
So now, you men, remember then,

This is to be your plan.
Nine hours a day and better pay.
For every working man.

60 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

This last song reveals that over forty years ago the
men had the ideal of a fuller life. The struggle in question
lasted nearly a month, but we gained the is. increase.

The next battle was fought side by side with Arch's
Union. This was over the resistance of a wage reduction.
It was on a large scale and was fought with great bitterness.
Many of the men were evicted from their homes. This
time we were not successful by reason of the fact that the
years of 1891 and 1892 were years of great agricultural
depression and there were large numbers of unemployed
in the villages. After a bitter struggle the men went
back to work at the wage offered them. This greatly
dispirited the men, though I did my best to encourage
them both on the platform and in the press.

CHAPTER VI
A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY

IN 1892 I fought my first political battle, and for the
first time my faith in the Liberal Party received a shock.
In this year took place the second General County Council
Election, and, by special request of the working men in
the Cromer district, I allowed myself to be nominated as
a Liberal-Labour candidate for that division, expecting,
of course, that I should have the united support of the
Liberal Party in whose interests I had worked so hard for
several years. Believing them when they said they were
anxious that the working man should be represented on
all Authorities, one can understand my surprise and
astonishment when I found the leading Liberal in the
district nominating as my opponent the leading Tory in
the district ! I lost faith in their sincerity. It was evident
they were not prepared to assist the working men to take
their share in the government of the country. The
contest was turned at once into a class contest. Many
of the leading Liberals, as well as the Tories, expressed
their disgust at a working man having the audacity to
fight for a seat on the Norfolk County Council against a
local landlord. My opponent was the late Mr. B. Bond
Cabbell, who was returned unopposed at the first election
of the Council.

The contest caused the greatest excitement. The
late Mr. Henry Broadhurst, M.P., came to my help. The
division comprised the towns of Cromer and Sheringham
and the following villages : East and West Runton,

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62 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Weybourne, Beeston Regis, East and West Beckham,
Gresham, Bessingham, Sustead, Aylmerton, Metton and
Felbrigg. The contest lasted three weeks, and I covered
the whole district and held meetings in every village.
All this I did on foot, as I could not cycle and I could not
afford to hire a conveyance. The meetings were well
attended, and the only help I received was from Mr.
Broadhurst and from a few of my own members who
were local preachers. The supporters of my opponent
manifested the greatest bitterness during the contest,
especially the Liberals. So far did they carry this spirit
that they descended to publishing a most disgraceful
cartoon, depicting a coffin with me lying in it and
Broadhurst standing by the side and weeping over me.
Underneath were the words : " Puzzle, find Edwards
after the election." My opponent strongly condemned
such action and threatened to retire unless they withdrew
the thing.

The saddest thing of all was that it was my opponent
who was dead within three months from the day of the
election.

Throughout the election I was booed at by my opponent's
supporters, bags of flour and soot were thrown at me,
but my supporters heartened me with their cheers. The
poll was a heavy one and the votes were counted at Cromer
Town Hall on the night of the poll, the result being : —

Bond Cabbell 505

Edwards 455

Majority . . . . . . 50

There was a great crowd gathered outside the hall, my
opponents being certain of victory, which they had made
every preparation to celebrate. A brass band was there
in readiness, and a torchlight procession was formed. I
was informed the next morning that the band was worked
up to such a state of excitement that the drummer broke

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 63

in the end of his drum, which caused much amusement
and comment not altogether to the credit of the per-
formers.

The result, however, did not give much satisfaction
to the aristocratic party ; in fact, they were more bitter
than ever. For a working man to run the gentlemen's
party so close was more than they could tolerate, for
they were afraid that at the next trial of strength Labour
might win. Owing to Mr. Bond Cabbell's death another
election had to take place, but I decided not to contest
the seat again so soon, and my late employer, Mr. R. W.
Ketton, came foiward and was returned unopposed.

I then turned my attention to perfecting my organiza-
tion. In the autumn of that year I opened some strong
branches at Shipdham, East and West Bradenham, Saham
Toney, Ashill, Earlham, Barford, Grimston, Wood Balling,
Swanton Abbott, Hockering and Weston. We were
soon doomed to more trouble. Early in 1893 the men
got restless. The employers seemed determined to
reduce wages further. Arch's Union was seriously in-
volved. Strikes took place at Calthorpe, Erpingham,
Southrepps, Northrepps and Roughton, and our Union
became involved, as we had members on the farms. Our
members also came out at North Barningham, Aylmerton
and Alby. A great deal of hard work and anxiety
devolved upon me, as I was the only paid official in the
Union. Mr. Z. Walker, the only organizer the National
Union had at this time, was hardly pressed, as both Unions
had members on most of the farms affected, and we
frequently met and held joint meetings. I also met
Mr. Arch and addressed many meetings with him and
we became great friends from that time. We both saw
that to have two Unions with the same objects and
catering for the same class was a source of weakness,
but how to find a way out of it neither of us could see.

We decided, however, so long as the movement lasted,
we would work side by side without any friction.

64 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

The dispute lasted many weeks. The greatest use was
made by the employers of the weapon of the tied cottage
and many evictions took place.

The magistrates never hesitated when the opportunity
presented to grant an eviction order.

In 1893 the Government appointed a Royal Commission
to inquire into the administration of the Poor Law.
Amongst those appointed to serve on the Commission were
the late King (then Prince of Wales), the late Lord Aberdare,
Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., Henry Broadhurst,
M.P., Joseph Arch, M.P. and others. I was invited to
give evidence before the Commission upon the following
points : Relief in kind ; its quality ; the amount of
allowance ; the question of compelling children to support
their aged parents. I obtained my facts and prepared my
evidence and was called up to London to give it in March
1893. To prove the poorness of the quality of flour
allowed by Boards of Guardians I obtained some of this
flour and I also bought some of the best flour sold on the
market. Needless to say, the contrast was enormous.
The members of the Commission were astonished beyond
degree at the poorness of the quality of the flour doled
out by the Guardians, and I was requested by the Com-
mission to go back and ask my wife to make some bread
from the two classes of flour before completing my evidence.
This I did, and the following week I took the bread with
me before the Commission. The contrast in the bread
was more marked even than in the flour. The late King
expressed himself as shocked that such stuff was served
out to the poor to eat and thanked me for the trouble I
had taken in the matter.

Dealing with the inadequacy of the relief, I was requested
to give cases of hardship that had come under my
personal notice. I presented several cases. One came
from the parish of Aylmerton, being that of a widow
left with four little children, one a baby in arms. She
was allowed 6d. per week each for three children

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 65

and nothing for the fourth ; half a stone of flour each
for three and nothing for herself. In those days a widow
was supposed to keep herself and one child. This poor
widow's suffering was beyond degree, but this was only
a sample of the suffering and extreme poverty of those
who had lost the breadwinner. The case of the aged
poor was even worse. I presented cases, giving the names
of aged couples living together and only receiving one
stone of flour and 2s. 6d. in money, and of widows (aged)
receiving only half a stone of flour and is. 6d. in money.
In fact, my own mother was only allowed 2s. 6d. per week
and no flour and, further, I was called upon by the Aylsham
Board of Guardians to contribute is. 3d. per week towards
the sum allowed her by the Board, although I was only
receiving 153. per week with which to keep myself and
my wife.

I also named several cases of extreme hardship of chil-
dren being called upon to support their parents. I gave
the cases of two agricultural labourers named Hazelwood,
living at Baconsthorpe. Both were married men with
large families, one, I believe, had eight children. They
were both summoned before the Cromer magistrates
by the Erpingham Board of Guardians to show cause
why they should not contribute towards the maintenance
of their aged parents.

I was cross-examined on my evidence for some hours
by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain. At the close of my examina-
tion I was thanked by the late King and the other
members of the Commission for my evidence. The
Commission held their sittings in the Queen's Robing
Room in the House of Lords. When my evidence was
published it caused quite a sensation in the country, and
I think the report of this Commission hastened on the
passing of the District and Parish Councils Act. About
this time I grew so disgusted with the treatment meted
out to my mother that I absolutely refused to contribute
any more towards the sum granted her by them. I told

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66 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the Board they could stop the miserable 2s. 6d. per week
and this they did forthwith. My wife and I at once gave
notice to the landlord of the cottage in which my mother
had lived for fifty years, the rent of which we had paid
between us, and I decided to take her to our home and
look after her. My sister had the furniture with the
exception of the bed on which my mother slept and an
old chest of drawers. I kept my mother until she died
on February 5, 1892, without receiving a penny from
anyone.

In 1894 the Government brought in a Bill known as
the District and Parish Councils Bill, which provided for
the establishment of a Council in every parish having a
population of 300 and over, and the placing of the obtaining
of allotments for the working classes in the hands of the
Council, together with the appointing of trustees for Parish
Charities. It also sought to abolish all property qualifica
tion in election as Guardians. Mr. Z. Walker and I
jointly entered into a campaign during the passage of the
Bill through Parliament, Mr. Arch paying as many visits to
the county as his parliamentary duties would permit.
We also had the valuable assistance of the English Land
Restoration League, as it was then called, Mr. Frederick
Verinder being the General Secretary. The League sent
down one of their vans and a lecturer.

The Trades Union Congress was held in Norwich this
year (1894). I attended the Congress as delegate from
the Norfolk and Norwich Amalgamated Labour League
and moved a resolution on the tied cottage system.

At the end of the session the Bill became law, and by
the instructions of my Executive I set about preparing
to put the Act in force. I held meetings in every village
where we had branches of the Union and explained the
provisions of the Act. By the time the first meetings
were held to elect the Parish Councils in many of our
villages we had got our men ready and well posted up

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 67

in the mode of procedure as to nominations and how to
carry on.

The first meeting was held in December in the village
in which I lived. We held a preliminary meeting in the
schools to explain the Act. This meeting was attended
by the Rev. W. W. Mills, the Rector of the parish, who
caused some little amusement by his constant personal
interjections. For some years for some reason he had
shown a personal dislike to me, and he never lost an
opportunity to manifest this spirit of dislike. What
influenced him I never could understand, but he always
seemed jealous of my influence in the village as a Non-
conformist. A few days after this meeting was held the
Rector came to my house to inform me that Mrs. Mills was
being nominated as a candidate for the District Council,
and I informed him that I was also being nominated.
He expressed a wish that the contest might be friendly.
I informed him that so far as I was concerned it would.
He then accused me of being the cause of the meeting
referred to above being disorderly, which I stoutly denied.
He then called me a liar, and it looked for a few moments
as if we were in for a scuffle, for I threatened to put him
out of my house and began to take steps to do so. He
at once rose from his seat and rushed to the door before
I could lay hands on him, but in getting away he caught
my hand in the door and knocked the skin off my knuckles.
My wife was in the next room, and had she not appeared
on the scene I do not know what would have happened.
She got between us, took the Rector by the collar and
put him out of the yard. This event caused some little
excitement in the village.

At the meeting held for the election of Parish Councillors
all the Labour members nominated were elected. We
had nominated sufficient candidates to fill all the seats
but one, and this was taken by Mr. Groom, the school-
master. The parish of Felbrigg was also joined to
Aylmerton for the purpose of forming the Parish Council,

68 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

and it became known as the Aylmerton-cum-Felbrigg
Parish Council. At the first meeting of the Council I
was elected chairman. I was also elected on the Beckham
Parish Council on which I served for some years, and I
was also one of the charity trustees. One of the first
things we did on the Aylmerton Council was to obtain
allotments for the labourers in the parishes of Aylmerton
and Felbrigg. In fact, our enthusiasm to do something
was so great that it was the cause of our undoing, for at
the next election we all got defeated, and I took no more
interest in the affairs of the parish while I lived there.

At the District Council election I beat my opponent
by four votes. My wife was elected for the parish of
East and West Beckham unopposed, Mr. Barker was
elected for Sustead, Mr. T. Self for Felbrigg, Mr. Walter
Towler for Edgefield and Mr. B. Johnson for Sheringham.
Thus we started the new Erpingham District Council
and Board of Guardians with six direct Labour repre-
sentatives, which beat the record in all rural England.
I was a member of this Council for eighteen years and
my wife for ten years.

The reception we received at the first meeting of the
Council was rather mixed. Many of the members were
rather alarmed at so many Labour members being
elected, particularly myself, whom they looked upon as
being the leader of the group, and of course I was looked
upon as being a rebel, out for revolution, to upset law
and order, and to go in for most indiscriminate outdoor
relief. Our arrival at the Board was rather late, and
on entering the room we found all the other members
present discussing the probable events of the day. As
soon as I appeared in the room I saw some of the
members point to me and remark, that I was " the fellow."
Well, it was quite true, we were there for business and
to make a great alteration in the administration of the
Poor Law. On settling down to work we found the

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 69

outdoor relief allowed by this Board was as follows :
Aged couples, one stone of flour and 2s. 6d. per week, and
in a few special cases 35. per week ; single persons, half a
stone of flour and is. 6d. per week ; young widow with
family 6d. per week and half a stone of flour for all the
children with the exception of one, which the widow
was expected to keep as well as herself. We found
another shameful practice in existence. If the late husband
of the recipient was in a sick club, the widow was requested
to show all her bills as evidence of how she had spent her
husband's funeral money before any relief was granted.

This seems almost incredible, but it is true. We made
an early attempt to alter this scandalous state of things,
as the following account of a debate that took place will
prove. Although we did not get the improvements we
aimed at, still we made some advancement, and it en-
couraged us to aim very soon at other improvements.
We Labour members made strict inquiries into the con-
ditions of the poor. We also found in those days that
the Relieving Officers had not advanced far from their
predecessors in the treatment of the poor and would
take any excuse to deprive the poor of relief. On going
to the Board meeting one day my wife found that a poor
sick and aged widow had had her relief stopped by the
Relieving Officer, the excuse being that the woman had
given birth to an illegitimate child. This the officer
said he knew to be true as the woman had told him so.
This astounded my wife, as she knew it was impossible
for such a thing to have happened, and she undertook
to investigate the matter. This she did, and was able
to inform the Board that the so-called illegitimate child
was thirty years of age, married, and a mother herself.
Needless to say, we Labour members did not fail to
denounce this cruel act for all we were worth and we got
the poor woman her money put on again. The Relieving
Officer was made to pay her her back money himself and
never to come to the Board again with such a story.

70 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

The next question we tackled was the relief given in
kind. We found that meat tickets ordered by the doctor
had been refused in numbers of cases, so much so that
the doctors had begun to complain. I raised the question
on the Board and I found up a clause in the Poor Law
Act that prohibited the Guardians from refusing to give
relief in kind ordered by the doctor. It caused a good
deal of discussion, but we got the matter put right. The
quality of the flour allowed to the poor next came under
our notice. One week a poor widow living in my village
brought me a loaf of bread she had made from the flour
the Relieving Officer had left her that week. One could
take the middle out and leave the crust standing like
two walls. My wife gave the woman some of her own
flour, took the other flour and made it into bread her-
self, with the same result. I took this bread, with a loaf
my wife made from her own flour, to the meeting of the
Guardians, and strange to say the Rev. Casson, living
at Mundesley, fourteen miles from where I lived, also
took some. We denounced this treatment and all kinds
of excuses were forthcoming. During the discussion
it came to light that the contractor was only a journey-
man, and that he took the contract for his master. The
result of this exposure was the stopping of all relief in
kind so far as flour was concerned. The following report
of the debate appeared in the Eastern Weekly Leader : —

The Rev. Casson brought up some bread and flour from Mun-
desley, and Mr. Edwards brought two loaves of bread and three
samples of flour from Aylmerton, and they were laid on the table
for the Guardians to inspect. The bread had a very bad appear-
ance. The Rev. Casson moved that the contractor who supplied
this flour to the poor in the Southrepps district be named, and
that early steps be taken to bring him to punishment, and that
his name be for ever struck out from the list of contractors of this
Union. The rev. gentleman said that the man who could be
villain enough to supply the poor with such stuff as this called
flour deserved to be punished to the utmost limit of the law.
(Cries of " Prove the flour is bad.") The Rev. Casson : " I have

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 71

brought a sample of the bread and flour here, and I will ask any
Guardian if he thinks it is fit for human food, and are we as Guar-
dians going to sit quietly by and see our poor served with such
stuff as this ? It is not fit for the beasts to eat." At this stage the
rev. gentleman grew very excited, and was exhibiting his sample
of bread and flour, when Mr. Richard Mack, a co-opted member,
took the bread and put it into the fire. The rev. gentleman then
moved excitedly that Mr. Mack be named and expelled for the
day for his dastardly and cowardly act — (great disorder). — Mr.
Mack, he continued, had destroyed the only protection these poor
people had. — Mr. Edwards said he rose as a protest against the
conduct of Mr. Mack. He had been brought into contact with
a large number of people, and he must say he never saw a more
ungentlemanly act in his life. He was surprised that any gentle-
man should so forget himself as to treat another gentleman as
Mr. Mack had treated the Rev. Casson when he was advocating
the rights of the poor. (Cries of " shame.") Mr. Edwards : " It
is a shame, and I appeal to the Chairman to protect the Rev.
Casson and obtain for him a fair hearing." (Loud applause.)
Mr. Edwards added, " Let anyone dare to destroy my sample
of bread and I will soon show them what course I will take." —
Mr. Towler said he thought it was most unfair that the Rev.
Casson should be interrupted. Surely gentlemen were not afraid
these things should be brought to light. — The Rev. Casson said
he felt it very much that Mr. Mack should throw his bread into
the fire, as it was the protection these poor people had whose
cause he was advocating. Speaking on the flour, he said the
complaint did not come from one person only, nor yet from one
village, for the same complaint came from Trimingham, and his
friend Mr. Edwards had brought the same complaint from Aylmer-
ton, miles away from Mundesley, and he hoped the Guardians
would bring the man to punishment that had been guilty. — Mr.
Edwards said it was with mixed feelings that he seconded the
Rev. Casson's resolution. He was pleased that he was on the
Board to watch the interest of the poor, and he was pleased that
the Rev. Casson had spoken out as he had. He could assure the
Rev. Casson that he would receive the warm gratitude of hundreds
of poor people for the course he had taken. At the same time
he very much regretted that any man could be found in this
country calling itself Christian so cruel as to act as this contractor
had done. He, Mr. Edwards, had been very careful to bring flour
as well as bread, and he had also got bread and flour from different
persons so that it could not be said that it was all of one make
and was the fault of the maker. — Mr. Waters moved as an
amendment that we have some of the flour taken from the other
sacks and sent to two or three bakers to test it before naming the

72 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

contractor. Mr. Waters said he did not wish it to go forth that
he did not wish the poor people to have good flour, but he thought
they ought to be sure first that the flour was bad, or the Board
might find themselves sued for libel. In his opinion the bread
produced was baked badly and the yeast was not good. — Mr.
Daplyn seconded the amendment. — Mrs. Edwards said Mr. Waters
had no right to speak of the bread in the way he had. The bread
which her husband had brought from Aylmerton was made of the
same yeast hers was made from, and hers was very good — good
enough even for Mr. Waters to eat if he wished ; and further,
she knew the woman that made the bread, and she could assure
the Guardians she was a good bread-maker. She was sure it was
not the fault of the maker nor yet of the yeast, but of the flour ;
and she would challenge anyone that had any knowledge of flour
to prove that the flour produced was good. She could assure the
Guardians that her neighbours and sister working-woman could
make as good bread as anyone else if they had the flour to make
it with. — Mr. Broadhurst said he hoped the Rev. Casson would
not press his vote of censure upon Mr. Mack, for he thought he
had no ill feeling. — Mr. Mack apologised and said he only put the
bread into the fire through fun. He was anxious the poor should
have good flour. — Mr. Broadhurst, continuing, said any contractor
or contractors who could be found to conspire together to supply
the poor people with such stuff as this called bread ought to be
brought to book. He would ask anyone if they thought such
stuff as this was fit for human food ? Why, he would not give
it to his dog, much less offer it to a poor human being. The poor
ask for bread and we give them stuff fit only to make paste with. —
Mr. Waters : " We do not supply them with bread, but with flour."
— Mr. Broadhurst : " Oh, very well. Flour, if you like to call it
such. I do not. But we have it here on the evidence of one of
the ladies that some of the bread is made with the very same
yeast that her bread is made with, and hers is good ; and further
that she knows one of the women who made the bread, and that
she knows her to be a good bread-maker. Why should they doubt
this Guardian's words ? Further, we have bread and flour brought
from villages miles apart, and it would be impossible for them to
conspire together for the purpose of trumping up a complaint.
This affair to-day is another strong argument in favour of giving
the poor money instead of relief in kind, and all honour to those
gentlemen who have brought this matter before the Board ; they
will receive the thanks of thousands of people when they read the
debate." — Mr. Kimm, the Relieving Officer, said the sub-contractor
had offered to take the other sacks back.— Mr. Broadhurst : " Sub-
contractor 1 What, do you mean to say that this Board allows
its business to be done in this fashion ? Do you mean to say that

A DEFEAT AND A VICTORY 73

this Board puts out contracts and then allows the contractor to
sub-contract ? There is no wonder then that the poor people
are supplied with such stuff as this. Why, if this kind of pro-
ceeding is allowed to continue, this Board will become the laughing-
stock of all the country, and further, who are we to put our hands
on if this thing be proved ? I would like to ask the Clerk who
the contractor is ? " — The Clerk : " Mr. Tuck of Hempstead." —
Mr. Daplyn : " Why, he is only a journeyman miller and works
for Mr. Bird." — Mr. Edwards : " Yes, and he is sweated by some-
one else ; that is how this Board does its business." — Mr. Broad-
hurst, continuing, said this was a strange revelation, and he was
astonished that business men on the Board should allow this kind
of thing to exist. Here is a working man made a tool for some-
one else to sweat, and then he puts it out to sub-contract to some-
one else, and this someone else sweats someone else. What ever
had the House Committee been doing ? — The Rev. Fitch rose to
a point of order ; the Committee were not to blame, as the recom-
mendation of the Committee was accepted by the whole Board.
He was a member of the Committee and never knew before now
that Tuck was a working man. — Mr. Edwards said he had just
found it out, and he thought the Committee ought to have found
it out before. — Mr. Waters said the Committee had put out the
contract to Tuck for years. — Mr. Broadhurst : "If that is so it
is most unsatisfactory." — Continuing, Mr. Broadhurst asked who
the sub-contractor was, and the Clerk replied, " Mr. Press." — Mr.
Robins Cook : " Yes, and a very respectable tradesman too,
and he would not do a wrong act if he knew it." — Mr. Broadhurst :
" There is no one has said anything about the respectability of
any man, but this sub-contractor has admitted that the flour
was bad." — Mr. Waters : " No, no." — Mr. Broadhurst : " Mr.
Waters says no, no, but the letter states that he would take the
remaining sacks back, and what is that but admitting it ? " — Mr.
Bugden said that if the mover of the amendment and resolution
would consent, he would suggest that a committee be formed to
inquire into the matter, and get some of the flour from the remain-
ing sacks and make it up and report to the Board. — Mr. Waters
and Mr. Daplyn said they would withdraw their amendment in
favour of Mr. Bugden's suggestion. — Rev. Casson said he was
not disposed to withdraw his resolution, for it was only an attempt
to baulk the question. (Cries of " Order.") The rev. gentlemen
said the Committee had set up a dummy to shoot at. (Cries of
" No, no.") Rev. Casson : " But you have ; you only got us
a journeyman miller to deal with." — Mr. Edwards said if Mr.
Bugden could assure him there would be no delay and the matter
thoroughly gone into, he would be disposed to advise the Rev.
Casson to withhold his resolution until this day fortnight. — To

74 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

this the Rev. Casson agreed. — Mr. Bugden then moved that a
committee of five be appointed to investigate the matter and get
some of the flour from the remaining sacks and make up for a test,
and that the Relieving Officer go home at once and get the flour
and seal it up. — Mr. Waters seconded the resolution, and it was
carried that the committee consist of Mr. Waters, Mr. Edwards,
Mr. Bone, and Mrs. Johnson. It was further resolved, on the
motion of Mr. Edwards, seconded by Mr. Farmer, that the poor
in the Southrepps district receive money equivalent to flour for
the next fortnight.

CHAPTER VII
DARK DAYS

THE continuance of bad seasons since 1890, with low
prices, had brought about a great depression in agriculture.
Thousands of labourers were discharged, and the greatest
distress prevailed amongst the rural population. Prices
went down to the lowest level. Thousands of coombs
of barley were sold at 93. per coomb and of wheat at
I2s. per coomb. Had not the root crop been exception-
ally good and feeding stuffs very cheap, which gave them
a fair profit on their cattle, many of the farmers must
have been ruined. But, as now, the labourer was the
first to be called upon to bear the heaviest part of the
burden. His wages were reduced to us. per week. This
greatly dispirited them. They began to leave the Unions
in large numbers, and towards the close the Unions had
become almost helpless.

The political opponents of the Union saw their opportu-
nity to spread disunity amongst the men. They employed
a Mr. A. L. Edwards to start a Union in opposition to
the others, and this became known as the Labourers'
Independent Federation, which proved to be a free labour
organization. The man was employed by the other
side. His method of attack was to get the balance
sheets of the other Unions. The first Union he attacked
was the Suffolk Labourers' Federation, whose General
Secretary was Mr. Robinson of Ipswich. Mr. Edwards
endeavoured to become a member of this Union, but
was rejected. He next attacked Arch in a most unfair

76 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

manner. After a while he attacked me unceasingly.
Hundreds of thousands of leaflets were printed and
scattered broadcast, and these followed me about wherever
I went for years. This must have cost the Tory Party
hundreds of pounds. It had its effect. The leaflets
were headed : " How the Labourers' Money is Spent."
The men left the Union, and I soon became convinced
that the whole movement was going.

In the early part of 1894 a new weekly paper was
started in Norwich known as the Eastern Weekly Leader.
The Rev. Charles Peach became its editor. This was
started as an advanced Radical paper ; in fact, had it
been in existence to-day, it would have ranked as a Labour
paper. It was, however, like all other advanced papers,
doomed to have a short life. I became a local correspon-
dent and agent, and I at once reduced my Union salary
to IQS. per week. This, however, did not save the Union
from decay.

The columns of this paper were open to every phase
of the Labour movement. Stirring articles appeared
in the paper week by week aimed at encouraging the
labourers. I worked hard to push its sale amongst the
labourers and for a few months it went well, but early
in 1895 it became evident that it would have to go under.

By the end of 1894 the condition of the people had become
considerably worse. Arch and myself had become
terribly disheartened. We met to discuss the best thing
to do to keep the Unions alive. His sick benefit side
had become insolvent. The trade and industrial
departments had borrowed money from the sick fund,
contrary to rule. Great friction arose between Arch
and the trustees of his sick fund, Mr. George Mitchell
and Mr. Howard Evans. They locked up the funds, a
law suit followed and the two trustees at once resigned.
Happily for us we had no sick fund connected with our
Union. Arch and myself agreed that we would continue
for another year, if we could, and undertook to write

DARK DAYS 77

an article in the papers pointing out the conditions and
urging upon the labourers the necessity of banding them-
selves together and, if possible, to attract public sympathy.
I wrote as follows to the Weekly Leader : —

The year 1894 has gone and 1895 has had its birth this week.
I propose to still further comment upon the condition of the
workers for the purpose of throwing further light upon the subject
and enlightening the mind of the public upon this most important
problem, for it is every day evident that one-half of the world
does not know how the other half lives. First let us look at the
conditions under which the agricultural labourer works and lives.
His work is not only laborious but its very nature must necessarily
be unhealthy. He is exposed to the scorching rays of the sun
during the summer months, but also exposed to all wets and colds
during the winter months. During the summer months in many
cases the labourer leaves his home at the early hours in the morn-
ing to enable him ro reach his work by six in the morning, and
very often the first greeting he receives is a surly growl from his
employer. He goes to work, and his hours of labour are from
five in the morning to five in the afternoon. In the winter his
work is from the dawn of daylight to its close. It is only
those who have experienced it can possibly have any knowledge
of the conditions under which the agricultural labourer works
and the suffering and privations he has to undergo in performing
his daily task. It is quite fresh to the mind of the writer of these
comments when he had to shelter beneath a hedgerow to be
screened from the piercing winds, and his teeth have chattered
in his head, and many a time has he been soaked through with wet.

The labourer's home after his day's work is done, if a home it
can be called, is of the worst kind. Although, through the industry
of the wife, it is a great deal more comfortable than one might
expect, considering the scanty income and the wretched condition
of the cottages in which they have to live. Very often during the
winter months the first thing that has to be done after his return
home is to strip himself of his wet clothes, and the wife has to
place them in front of the small fire to dry them fit for the morning,
and the small room is made damp. The houses in which the
labourer has to live are neither sanitary, water-tight, nor wind-
tight. In a house where I was staying a few days ago the poor
people informed me that only a few nights previous they found
themselves suddenly awakened by their bedclothes being soaked
by the water that was coming through the roof. Can it be won-
dered at, then, that sickness is so prevalent amongst the workers ?
This description is no idle fable. In many cases the labourer

78 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

barely ever sees his children by daylight, except on Sunday. But
even those cottages, in spite of their wretched condition, the
labourer has to hire under such conditions as cannot fail to place
him in a position of the most abject slavery, and cause his wages
to come down to the lowest minimum, stunt his intellect, and
affect his morals. Under the present social system the labourer
feels compelled to look upon the man who employs him as a bene-
factor, and also to feel himself under some obligation to him.
The unscrupulous employer is quick to see this, and soon looks
upon it as the natural order of things that it should be so, and
that he is quite right in treating his men in this manner, and in
paying them just what wage he pleases, without thought or care
whether they are able to keep body and soul together.

There have been so many men running about our county en-
deavouring to impress upon the minds of the working classes that
Trade Unions are of no benefit, except to keep a few men with
a living, that I am prompted to say a word or two. This idea
has taken hold of a number of men, and thousands of labourers
in Norfolk have become indifferent about the matter during the
past year, whilst those who have been the means of upsetting
them with their Free Labour Federation have made no attempt
to improve the position of the labourers of this county. Every-
one sees now that these parties are kept by political agents, and
their only object is to get the labourers divided so that they may
get a political advantage at the next General Election. The reason
I speak out so plainly is this : If you watch the papers you will
find that the men imported into this county during the past twelve
months to upset Trades' Unions are generally employed at bye-
elections. The Brigg election is a witness to this assertion. We
have no cause to be ashamed of the history of Trades' Unions ;
their object was to demand a living wage for work performed,
and also for gaining social and political reforms all along the line.
Have we succeeded ? I contend we have, and have done more
for the improvement of the working classes than all the blackleg
crew from Suffolk or any other county. We may not have suc-
ceeded in every fight that we have been engaged in, but the reason
for it has been because the men have not been united. Look
at the miners' struggle last year, it was most severe, and showed
to the country the power of combination and endurance on the
part of the sons of toil. Have not these men benefited by their
Union ? I contend that they have, and the same benefits might
be derived if all the labourers were united in this country. Their
object would not be to crush the farmer, but to have a standard
wage, which should be a living wage, and not subject to alterations
two or three times in the year. By their combination they could
enforce this, and it would be more satisfactory to all parties con-

DARK DAYS 79

cerned. Moreover, we should have less petty little strikes which
accomplish nothing. It is only by combination that you can
demand a living wage, and I contend the present advantages
which the men enjoy are mainly due to the work of the Union in
the past. We not only went in for the wage question, but also
for political powei, and to-day we enjoy it. The labourers have
the vote and can put whom they choose into Parliament to repre-
sent them, and they have had pluck enough in this county to put
a labourer into Parliament to represent one of the divisions, and
I may say he represents the whole county of agricultural labourers,
and is ready to serve them in that house at any time when their
questions come up.

Unemployment amongst the labourers increased.
The Government of the day appointed a Royal Commission
to inquire into the cause of the depression in agriculture
and sent inspectors into the various counties to hold
inquiries. Mr. (now Sir) Henry Rew was sent down to
Norfolk, and I attended before him and gave evidence,
upon which he commented in giving his report. Nothing,
however, came out of the Commission's report. The
fact was it was too big a question for the Tory Govern-
ment to tackle. During the winter I attended several
meetings and gave advice. I told the men if the employers
would not employ them they were not to starve, but to
throw themselves and their families upon the rates.
Many of them did. On my own Board I moved a resolu-
tion to put into force an old Act of Parliament that enabled
the Guardians to hire fifty acres of land on which to set
the unemployed to work and to pay the men labourers'
wages. This, of course, was defeated, but I warned the
Board that the day was not far distant when they or some
other authority would have to deal with the problems of
the land and the unemployed, for the men would not
starve. On May 26th the following article by me appeared
in one of the Norfolk papers, showing the acute stage
the question had reached : —

My friend Mr. Z. Walker, commenting on the labour question
in one of the Norfolk papers, made a statement in reference to the

80 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

above question which if true — and my experience will re-echo
the same thing — will cast a stigma upon our boasted civilization.
Mr. Walker stated that he knew of cases in Norfolk of young men
who are in the Union workhouse for no other cause than that
the farmers will not employ them, and that other men are quite
willing to work, but find it hard to obtain employment. Now,
the question that presents itself to one's mind is : Is it right for
men to starve and remain idle while the land is thirsting for labour ?
And I should say every right-thinking man will answer " No,"
emphatically " No " ; and those young men named by Mr.
Walker took the wisest course — far better than migrating to the
large towns, to unduly compete with their fellow workmen. Never-
theless, it is a disgrace to the age in which we live that men should
be found willing and anxious for work, but unable to find it.

This question of the unemployed is daily taking a more serious
aspect. Year by year this menacing army of unemployed is on
the increase, not only in this country, but in every other country,
go where you may, and whatever form of Government it is, demo-
cratic or autocratic. Even in America, where everyone has equal
political rights, and where we are told the Presidential chair is
open to any man who has the ability and tact to work himself
up to it, however humble his parentage may be, the question of
the unemployed is becoming so serious that men stand and look
on with amazement, and the wildest schemes are propagated as
a remedy — schemes which if carried out would throw society into
disorder and confusion.

Various have been the reasons given for the existing state of
things. In England we are told it is our fiscal policy, kno
as Free Trade, while others say it is our monetary system. I
America, a highly protected country, reformers say it is Protec
tion and advocate Free Trade. The same thing exists in all the
nations in Europe. With this state of affairs, small wonder that
some men are beginning to think that it matters not what form
of Government we have. Various reforms have been passed in
recent years which have been beneficial in themselves, but they
do not seem to have touched the fringe of the question ; still the
bitter cry of poverty is heard from the workless ones, and still
we are horrified by the fact that men and women are driven to
despair and to take their own lives, while others are urged to
commit most dastardly acts. The Local Government Act will
do something to alter the present evils if the workers take proper
interest in it and put men on the District Councils who are in touch
with them, and it will go a long way towards establishing the right
of the people to use the earth.

But we must have something far more drastic than that : we
must go to the root of the matter ; everyone who has the true

DARK DAYS 81

interest of the country and the cause of humanity at heart must
set himself to work to find out the cause of the evil, and when
once this is done must approach the question with an unselfish
spirit, and however drastic the reform may be that is necessary-
it will have to be done. I confess that I hold more advanced
views on the land and other social questions than some of the
Labour leaders, but that is brought about after having watched
every movement that has been set on foot for the abolition of
human suffering and carefully studying the various arguments
used in advocating various schemes to deal with social problems
and the various causes assigned for the present state of things.

I am satisfied that nothing will ever prove effectual but the
abolition of our present land system. This huge monopoly has,
like Belshazzar, been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
All history condemns the idea that a few people have absolute
right to the use of the earth, to the exclusion of the rest. History
informs us that landowners were simply trustees to the State for
the land held, and were under the obligation to provide and equip
at their own cost the defences of the nation, besides having other
onerous dues to pay and duties to perform. But gradually the
landholders, who are now called landlords, after having seized
all public and Church property they could lay their hands upon,
shifted these burdens from their own shoulders on to those of the
people. The existing land system places the landlords in the
position of antagonists of the general public, and the people are
thrown into the grasp of a huge octopus, which is dragging them
down to despair and the workers to the depths of misery, crippling
the trade and commerce of the world.

This landed system, which has grown up under successive Kings
and Governments, and is now upheld by bad laws, is a crime
against the people ; it is a violation of Divine order and of the
inalienable rights of mankind. It has created pauperism, that
awful evil which inflicts an injustice and cruelty upon the honest
workers and drives one out of every four into the Union work-
house. Farmers are ruined and willing workers are cast off the
land they would gladly cultivate to seek a miserable existence in
overcrowded cities, where their presence aggravates the miseries
already existing. This system is a danger to society, and if not
speedily remedied must bring disastrous consequences.

This question of the unemployed and the social well-being of the
people is strictly a religious one: When I first entered into public
life some of my closest friends with whom I had been
in Christian society for several years were astounded when on
one occasion I preached a sermon on the Labour movement on
the Sunday, and I was severely taken to task for so doing. Some
months before, yielding to the wishes of the labourers to champion

6

82 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

their cause, I seriously thought the question over, as I felt that
I could not on any account engage in anything that in any way
clashed with my Christian principles, and it was because I was
convinced that the great disparity existing in the social condition
of the people and the gross inequality in the distribution of wealth
were contrary to the Divine wish, and that the benevolent inten-
tions of God were not being carried out, that I gave way to the
wishes of the labouring men to advocate the cause of the honest
toilers. I consider that every time I attend a Labour meeting I
attend a religious service in the strictest sense of the word. What
movement can be more sacred than the one that has for its object
the uplifting of man, the beautifying of human nature, and the
restoring of that likeness and image of God which man has so long
lost ? Poverty is the cause of so much evil and degradation.
Poverty is the prolific mother of vice, disease, and all that is vile
and ungodlike. Poverty, then, is what we are trying to abolish.
What we claim is this, then, that the question of the poverty of
the people, brought about by the selfishness of man and the undue
haste of the few to get rich at the expense of the many, is a religious
question, and it will not be until we get pure homes, sanitary houses,
good living, good work, and sufficient to keep every man em-
ployed with a good and fair living wage that we shall ever hope
to have a healthy and purified state of society ; never until all
classes truly realize the iniquity of our present social system, and
the morality of Christ's Gospel finds a lodgment in our hearts,
can we hope to make men think and act as men ; never until the
religion of humanity enables us to claim succour for the little ones,
manhood for ourselves, and justice for the oppressed shall we ever
have a happy and pure nation.

In spite of the indifferent attitude of those we repre-
sented, my wife and I pressed on with our work on the
Board. She was elected to the House Committee, which
gave her an opportunity to find out many of the existing
abuses in the House. One abuse was the treatment meted
out to the poor unfortunate girls whose lot it was to go
into the House for confinement. A system of punishment
had sprung up in such cases. The Guardians appeared
to have come to the conclusion that it was their duty
to punish the girls severely, many of whom were more
sinned against than sinning. In fact, the Poor Law
encouraged them to do so ; hence the poor girls were set

DARK DAYS 83

to do the hardest work that could be found them. They
were often kept at the wash-tub when they were not fit
to be there. On one occasion my wife paid a surprise
visit to the House and found a poor girl hard at work in
the laundry who she thought would have been in the
infirmary. The girl said she was there only five days.
My wife raised the question at the next meeting of the
committee and said some very straight things and pro-
tested very strongly. Some of the members said they
were surprised that my wife should not be in favour of
punishment, for they must put down immorality. My
wife retorted that she was not encouraging immorality
— in fact she had endeavoured to set her poor sister an
example — but she was against cruel treatment being
meted out to her poor unfortunate sisters and, unless
the practice was stopped, she would raise the whole
question at the full Board. This practice was at once
stopped, and after that no girl was ever set to work until
at least twelve days had elapsed after her confinement.
The tramps next came under our notice. We found they
were set to work to pick an almost impossible quantity
of oakum, and if they failed to pick the alloted quantity,
they were kept in the tramp ward for two days. Despite
this the Guardians lost money on the business. We raised
the whole question and moved that the business should
be abolished. The strongest opposition to this being
done was raised and at first we were defeated. But
we kept at it and finally we got it carried. I also found
that the tramps were kept none too warm. One Sunday
afternoon I paid a surprise visit to the tramps' ward, and
on a cold November evening I found there was no fire in
the ward. I denounced this inhuman treatment at the
Board. Again the old idea was trotted out. These
parasites, living on the community, must be punished.
I replied with the stinging retort that the tramps were
not the only people born tired, and I moved that in future
during the winter months there should be a fire in the

84 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

ward. After a good deal of discussion this was carried.
The next subject we tackled was the old peoples' dress.
We moved that the distinctive dress should be abolished
and that the old ladies should be dressed in a more home-
like way. This was also adopted, but I don't think the
old ladies took to it very kindly. Still it was a step in
the right direction. The dietary table was taken in
hand, and a great improvement was made in this direc-
tion, and month by month we gradually increased the
out relief.

An amusing incident happened to me one Sunday
when I was conducting a religious service in a little chapel.
A poor old widow sat right against the pulpit. Her out
relief had been increased from is. 6d. to 35. per week.
After I had finished the service the old lady came up to
me, put her arms round my neck and, as innocently as
a child of two, kissed me and pronounced God's blessing
upon me, saying she hoped I would live for ever.

Early in 1896 a Poor Law conference was held at Norwich,
and the Board unanimously elected me as one of their
representives. I was put on almost all the committees,
for by this time a much better feeling existed on the
Board. We began to understand each other and we
gave each other credit for honest intentions.

Under the District and Parish Councils Act the Guardians
were also deemed to be District Councillors, except those
Jiving in urban districts. The Council became the
Highways Authority and took over all the parish roads.
They also became the Sanitary Authority. I was put
on the committees for these purposes and our first fight
for Labour commenced. As the Highways Authority,
the Council became a large employer of labour, and when
we came to fixing the wages and hours a stiff fight com-
menced. I moved that the men should receive 2s. 6d.
per day or 155. per week. This proposition filled the
employers on the Council with alarm, and we were met

DARK DAYS 85

with the point that, if we paid that wage, all the labourers
would become dissatisfied and would want the same,
and they could not afford it. I retorted that it was the
duty of the Council to set an example and pay a living
wage. This was defeated, but we did manage to get
passed that the roadmen received is. per week more than
the labourers. In the course of two or three years we
tackled the housing question, and before I left the
Council in 1910 we had adopted Part III of the Housing
Act and had built houses at Briston and Edgefield. I
look back with more pleasure to the work I was able to
do for my class on this Board and Council than to any
other work I have done during the whole of my long
public life. I had the satisfaction of knowing that com-
fort and pleasure was brought into many a poor old person's
home.

We commenced the year 1895 with a very large decrease
of members. Our balance sheet showed our income to
be down nearly 50 per cent., and although I had my
salary reduced from i8s. to IDS. and the Executive had
cut down expenses by one haJf, our savings were very
small. We had several small disputes. The Executive
thought they would have one more effort to revive the
Union. Again the English Land Restoration League
came to our aid and sent another of their vans and a
lecturer down free for the summer months. Many
villages where branches had fallen through were visited.
Thousands of leaflets on land and labour questions were
distributed by the League. The Tory and capitalist
party worked equally hard the other way. At first they
devoted all their energies against Arch and published
most scandalous leaflets about his balance sheet that
shocked every fair-minded man in all political parties.
I was the first to publish the balance sheet of 1894. No
sooner had I done this than they attacked me more
ferociously than they had done Arch. They manipulated

86 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the sheet in a shameful manner, so much so that even the
employers were ashamed of such tactics. It had, however,
its desired effect and by the end of 1895 both Unions had
actually become defunct. During the year I went with-
out my IDS. per week, knowing the Union would collapse
within a few months, and I received my income from the
Weekly Leader. On December 7, 1895, I wrote to the
Leader the following open letter : —

FELLOW WORKERS, — The year of 1895 is fast slipping beneath
our feet, and it becomes us all who are in any way interested in
labour to take a retrospect of the past months, and also to take
a view of the present condition of the working classes, in order
that a correct impression of the condition of the labouring classes
during the year 1895 may be obtained. As one of the much
despised Labour leaders I feel that the time has come when we
must speak out plainly to the working men, and show them their
exact position. Now, first I wish to point out to you that so
far as combination is concerned, and the means to help yourselves
to resist unfair treatment, you stand in a far worse condition than
you did at the commencement of the year. You were then in
a wretchedly disorganized condition — not more than one out of
every four of the labourers being in an organization of any kind
— but to-day you are in a far worse state of disorganization, and
you are altogether powerless to help yourselves in any way ; and
what is far worse, there has been growing up amongst you a spirit
of distrust and prejudice, until to-day your ranks are all chaos
and confusion. You seem to be like Ishmaelites, every man's
hand turned against the other. I must confess that I for one
did expect better things of you. With the District and Parish
Councils Act just coming into force, I hoped that new life would
rise amongst you, and that you would endeavour to make the
most of the opportunities that presented themselves to you, and
that by this time you would have been in a much better position.
But my hopes have been blighted and now I despair of you. All
hopes that you as a class will make any effort to lift yourselves
from your down-trodden state have vanished. Such being so,
many of us are seriously considering whether the time has not
come for us to step out of the field and leave you to fight your
way the best you can. Now, so far as the actual state of Labour
is concerned, your outlook for the future is most gloomy for reasons
already stated, and at present the condition of labour is not very
much improved. At the commencement of this year your wages

DARK DAYS 87

as agricultural labourers were IDS. per week; flour was nd. and
is. per stone. At present your wages are IDS. per week, and flour
is. 2d. and is. 3d. per stone, and thus with a family using five
stones of flour per week, as hundreds of you do, your purchasing
power is reduced is. 3d. per week. You were told in July last
that it would be otherwise ; you were led to believe that if there
was a change of Government, and the farmers made more of their
produce, you would get higher wages. No other evidence is needed
of the foolishness of your conduct, as your past experience ought
to have told you. It is only by having a good organization at
your back that the farmers will ever pay you a higher wage, and
there is nothing unnatural in that. The farmer is a merchant:
he has your labour to buy, and he will always buy it as cheaply
as he can. That is so long as our present individualistic system
remains, and labour is used for the sake of profit-making.

Mr. Rew, the Assistant Commissioner on Agricultural Depres-
sion, said in his report, that if the labourers had never heard of
a Union they would have had to put up with a less wage than
gs. or IDS. per week ; but fortunately or unfortunately, Mr. Rew
has not lived as long as some of us have ; neither has he had the
same experience as we have. There is abundant evidence that
when the men in Norfolk were well organized they received a much
higher wage, and that they did not get it until they did organize ;
and the fact does not indicate that economic forces rule the labourers
wages. The facts are, then, that so far as the condition of the
labourer is concerned, they will close the year 1895 worse than
they began, that is to say so far as wages and their purchasing
power is concerned ; and Heaven only knows it was bad enough
before. It is not many weeks since a labourer's wife told me that
after she had bought flour and coal she had only sixpence left.
I should like those who are constantly harping upon the comfort-
able conditions of the labourers to take a round with me once
a week and get a glimpse into the labourer's cottage. They would
be able to detect at a glance the amount of poverty which exists
amongst the working classes. They would soon see there was not
much waste in the labourer's kitchen. They would see that so far
as the labourers having the best end of the stick their share in the
business is very small. It is to be hoped that the working men
will seriously consider the position, and endeavour in the near
future to better it. I have spoken out the plain, cruel, honest
truth ; I hope it will have the desired effect.

Arch's Union was by now completely gone. My
Executive was seriously considering winding up the whole

88 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

thing. The funds of both districts had become exhausted,
as also had the central fund, hence the Union existed only
on paper. They decided to let the matter remain a few
weeks more, and commence another year if only on paper,
and in the last issue of the Leader for 1895 appeared the
following article by me : —

By the time this week's issue of the Weekly Leader appears the
year 1895 W*H have passed away and 1896 will have been ushered
in. It will do us no harm, especially the rural workers, to look
at the condition of labour and ascertain, if possible, its true con-
dition. We have constantly dinned into our ears that there has
been such improvement made in the condition of the workers
these last few years that there is nothing left to be done. We are
told the life of the workers is all that can be desired. Now,
in commencing to review the life of the toilers I have no wish
to infer that there have been no improvements in the working
classes ; far from it, for the various political reforms that have
been passed these last few years have had a tendency to give
labour a stake in the country. But even these have not brought
those unmixed blessings as many would have us believe they have.
In fact, I think it can be shown that in some respects each political
reform has had a tendency to fetter labour and somewhat enslave
it, because these political reforms have left loopholes for the land-
lords and capitalist to tyrannize over them. With the enfran-
chisement came the system of letting the cottages to the labourers
at a fortnight's notice, and by so doing instead of the enfran-
chisement of the people giving Labour a free hand, it bound
Labour tighter; and the last great reform of 1894 has given the
landlords and employers an opportunity of tyrannizing over the
workers in such a way as was never dreamt of by the promoters
of the Bill. Thus, instead of the government of our villages being
in the hands of the people, it is in the hands of a wealthy clique —
for the simple reason that the landlords are able to hold over the
heads of the workers the threat of higher rents, and a few of the
daring spirits who have come forward and voiced their fellows'
wrongs have become marked birds for the aristrocratic tyrants
to shoot at. With these facts before us, I think it must be con-
fessed that so far as the liberty and freedom of Labour is con-
cerned, we have closed the year 1895 with Labour as fettered as
ever, especially the unskilled portion of it.

There is much being said to-day in reference to the wages of
the workers, and an attempt is made to prove that Labour is
receiving far the largest share of the reward of human industry,

DARK DAYS 89

and that their poverty is due to the drinking and improvident
habits of the workers. That statement I do not accept. Those
who prefer that charge against the workers spend more money
in gambling and drink in one day than the workers with large
families have to live upon in a week. The wage of the agricul-
tural labourers is at the rate of los. per week, and unskilled
labourers in the town about i6s. 3d. This is far below a fair living
wage. The conditions under which the workers live will not bear
very close inspection ; some of the hovels in which they live are
not fit for human habitation. Scores of the hovels in which the
workers live they are compelled to nail up sacks to keep the wind
and water out. A poor women told me a few days ago that she
had to set bowls all over the bedroom when it rained. Another
told me during the sharp weather, when the family woke up in
the morning, their beds were all covered with snow ; yet those
poor creatures dare not complain for fear they would have no-
where to hide their heads ; and if we turn our attention to the
towns we find the workers in just as bad a condition, if not a little
worse. Their living is of the coarsest kind, in fact it is a marvel
how they exist at all. These comments are not for the purpose
of disheartening anyone, but to show our critics that the con-
dition of the workers is far from what it ought to be. They are
intended further to arouse, if possible, the workers from their
apathy, and to make a strenuous effort in the new year to better
their position, which can only be done by combination. There is
still a remnant of the once strong Unions left ; these have done
their work for you labourers in the past. If, however, you think
a better system can be found, then by all means adopt it and get
organized. Your opponents are getting more desperate every day ;
capital is becoming more organized for the purpose of resisting the
just demands of labour.

CHAPTER VIII
FAREWELLS

IN the first week of December 1895, at the request of
the Cromer District Liberal Association, I invited Mr.
Arch to come to Cromer and address a meeting there.
This invitation he accepted. Mr. Ketton presided. I
was anxious to give the old man a good reception, and
I obtained the services of the Cromer and Southrepps
Brass Bands to play Arch from the house at which he
was staying to the Lecture Hall. I met him at the station
in the afternoon, and as soon as I took his hand I found
he was broken-hearted and bitterly disappointed. Big
tears ran down his face. I took him to the house of
his host and we had tea together. Later we adjourned
to another room by ourselves. Arch gripped me by the
hand and said : " My boy, you are younger than I,
therefore you will be able to return to work, but take
my advice. When you do, never trust our class again.
I am getting old, I have given all the best years of my
life in their interest, and now in my old age they have
forsaken me."

We had a splendid meeting, but he was not the same
Arch he was in the days of the past. The bitter dis-
appointment had affected him even on a political platform.
I stayed with him that night and saw him off in the
morning, feeling sure we should never meet again in a
public capacity. We did not. At the General Election
Arch retired, and his friends in the House of Commons,

90

FAREWELLS 91

irrespective of politics, subscribed and bought him a
life annuity.

Early in the new year (1896) the directors of the
Weekly Leader decided to wind up the company, as no
advertisements could be obtained, and on February 8,
1896, the last issue of the paper was published. In it
appeared my parting words to the labourers, and I did
not fail to speak out plainly.

A PARTING WORD TO THE LABOURERS

FELLOW WORKERS,

It is with deep regret that I write these comments this
week, as this is the last issue of the Weekly Leader, the only
organ in Norfolk that has for some time fearlessly advocated your
rights. With its disappearance I shall have to vanish from public
life too, and in order to make my position clear before the
public I propose to give a brief outline of my connection with
public movements, especially the Labour movement.

In 1884 and 1885, when the labourer became enfranchised,
I was in a good situation as brick-burner. My employer was
a Tory, but I held contrary opinions. Being a working man and
Nonconformist, I had the courage to do what little I could for the
party which I thought would best serve the working men and
the country at large, hence I spoke at several of the Liberal meet-
ings in Norfolk. For this I lost my work, and was turned out of
my house, and was only able to get another by a man sub-letting
to me. I was never able to get another place as brick-burner,
and I turned to that of agricultural labourer, which I understood
as well as the other work. But I was only able to do this by
walking twelve miles a day, as no farmer in my neighbourhood
would employ me. This I did for eighteen months. Then Mr.
Ketton of Felbrigg Hall, my employer at that time, found me
a cottage where I am now living. No sooner had I got settled in
my new home than the working men, getting dissatisfied with
their lot in life and having no labourers' Union, turned to me to
help them to reorganize themselves. For some weeks I refused
to take any part. Having been once boycotted and being now
only just settled down under a liberal employer, I felt I had no
further wish to bear the turmoils of public life ; but at last through
the men's constant appealing I yielded to their pressure. Eleven
labourers formed a committee and waited upon me at my house

92 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

on November 5, 1889, and after they had decided among them-
selves what kind of Union they wished to start, I consented to act
as secretary. I at once threw myself into the work, and in nine
months enrolled in the Union upwards of 1,000 members, keeping
at my work all the same time, holding meetings after I had done
my day's work, many a time travelling twelve and fourteen miles
to do so, and often not seeing my bed at all. At the end of nine
months the committee decided that my whole time should be
given to the work. I cautioned them and begged the men not
to take me from my work, and for a time I refused to give it up.
But at last, feeling that I must either give the movement up or
give up my work, as my constitution was being seriously impaired,
I yielded to the wishes of the men, and a general meeting was
called to decide upon my salary. One pound a week was fixed,
but I refused to take a pound whilst the men were being paid so
low, and took 153. per week only. About this time we became
amalgamated with a Norwich Union, which was started about
the same time as our Cromer Union, and in due time I became
General Secretary, my salary being raised to i8s. per week. This
amount I had for about eighteen months, when the men began
to leave the Union, and now for several months I have had no
salary at all.

Now for a short account of the work done. We found the
labourers working for los. per week, which was soon raised to izs.,
and in a number of villages to 135. Their harvest wages were
raised from £6 to £6 los. to £7 and £7 53. We also assisted a
large number of the men to migrate and emigrate to other fields
of labour. In 1892 I fought a spirited contest in a County Council
Election at the express wish of the labourers themselves. At the
passing of the District and Parish Councils Act I did my best to
enable you to put it into operation. I have given this outline of
my work and connection with working men's movements so that
when my voice is silent, and my pen is still, and I go into obscurity,
the public may be able to rightly judge of my work. One thing
I can honestly say — in advocating the rights of the working men
I have never studied my own personal interests or comfort. I
have fearlessly championed your cause and have said and done
for your interest what I have honestly believed to be right, and
in doing so I have alienated those from me who would otherwise
have been my friends, because in fighting your cause I have fought
against their interests. I have in your interests made myself
a bore to almost everyone, and have been a target for everyone
to shoot at, while all through the work I have been grossly mis-
represented. But none of these things have moved ms, as I felt
that I was fighting a noble and just cause. But alas 1 you the
working men soon grew weary in well-doing, you allowed a spirit

FAREWELLS 93

of apathy to grow up amongst you, and what is still worse, you
have allowed a spirit of mistrust and wicked prejudice to grow
up amongst you. You have believed the vilest calumnies that
have been uttered against the leaders of the movement by your
enemies, hence your failure to emancipate yourselves. Leader
after leader has fallen because when victory was within sight you
refused to hold up their hands, and now you find yourselves to-day
in a helpless state.

In taking my final farewell of you, let it never be said that
George Edwards has left you. It is you that have left him. I
was prepared at all costs to voice your interests, for I have as
strong a faith as ever in the justness of your cause and the justness
of your claims to live by your labour. But I have lost all faith
that you will ever manifest manliness and independence enough
to claim your rights. But should you ever again be prepared to
assert your rights, I hope you will be able to find someone to lead
you successfully on till the harvest of your rights is fully accom-
plished. In my parting words I will say to you as did Ernest
Jones in one of his beautiful poems, because, although you cannot
realize it, your cause will one day triumph. Fellow workers, fare-
well ! It is not for me to get the work accomplished. I would
have helped you, but ye would not. I will say to you :—

Sharpen the sickle ; how full the ears I

Our children are crying for bread ;
And the field has been watered with orphans' tears

And enriched with their fathers' dead.
And hopes that are buried, and hearts that broke,

Lie deep in the treasuring sod :
Then sweep down the grain with a thunder-stroke,

In the name of humanity's God.

A week before this I had received an offer from the
Executive of the English Land Restoration League to
undertake a tour with one of their vans in Wiltshire in
the coming season, commencing May ist. This I accepted.
As there were several weeks before the engagement
commenced, a friend living at Sheringham, Mr. B. Johnson,
offered to find me a few weeks' work. On Monday
February loth I went to work for him a disappointed
man, having lost all faith that my class would ever be
manly enough to emancipate themselves.

To add to this disappointment I lost my seat on the

94 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

District Council, the Rev. Mills leading by four votes.
This exhibition of ingratitude on the part of the working
men in my own village after all I had done for them
during my term of office was enough to crush the spirit
of any man, for I had brought to the old people in receipt
of relief living in that parish alone over £20 in increased
relief. I had also obtained some few acres of allotments.
In any case I felt I could never take any more interest
in the business so long as I lived there. At the election
of the Parish Council I refused to serve again, and the
Council fell into the hands of the farmers ; and there
it has remained ever since.

In May I commenced my lecturing tour. I travelled
by road into the county, holding meetings every night
on the way. During my tour I ran against the law. On
September 3Oth I was summoned by the police before the
Trowbridge bench of magistrates for an alleged obstruction
of the highway by holding a public meeting on Vickers
Hill, Trowbridge, on September i8th.

The ground on which the van stood was vacant and
belonged to the Council. The amusing part of the business
was that at the time I was supposed to be speaking and
causing an obstruction I was more than half a mile from
the van. The man I left in charge of the van had got
impatient and commenced the meeting before the chair-
man and myself could return. It was a most amusing
case. Superintendent Tyler was prosecuting, and when
I stepped into the box he ordered me out again, as he
thought I was one of the public and was going into
the wrong seat. He did not know I was the defendant.

The campaign was most successful and pleasant, and
I gained an experience that has stood me in good stead
since. Several amusing incidents occurred during the
campaign. At a place near Devizes I was addressing
a large meeting, and a Tory continually interrupted
with the remark : " You would not do it if you were not
paid for it." Subsequently a man came on to the van

FAREWELLS 95

and informed me of my interrupter's mode of living.
This he did without anyone else's knowledge, and it
prepared me for the next interruption. I had not long
to wait for the same remark, and I retorted : " And
when I am paid I cannot afford to keep two wives as
some people do." A shout went up — " That is what he
does." Needless to say I had no more interruptions
from that quarter. I was in the county twenty-six
weeks, and although the work was successful from a
propaganda point of view, it did not save the Union in
the interests of which I was working, namely the Wiltshire
Union, financed by Mr. Louis Anstie, for it died out
within a few weeks.

In October of the same year I returned home and again
settled down to work. I went to work for a few weeks
with the late Mr. Benjamin Johnson as a general labourer,
and in January 1897 I accepted a situation as a brick-
burner with the late Mr. J. N. Neale of Baconsthorpe,
who opened a brickyard at Beeston. I kept with him
some years. In the same month I was elected unopposed
to the Erpingham District Council, and for years I lost
a day a fortnight from my work to attend the meetings
without fee or reward. My wife also kept her seat for
the parishes of East and West Beckham. I was soon
put on to all the committees again. In March of that
year I was sent by the Board as their representative
to a Poor Law conference at Colchester and again to one
at Norwich in 1898, and in 1899 I was sent by the Board
to a conference at Ipswich and was deputed by them
to read a paper on Old Age Pensions. After a lengthy
discussion the Board passed a resolution in favour of
these. Strange to say, same few years later, when the
Government brought in its scheme, it adopted in the
main the principles I had advocated in my paper, with
the exception of the age and income limit. I did not
recommend any income and I advocated sixty-five as
the qualifying age.

96 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

In the same week I attended a Primitive Methodist
conference at Ipswich and read a paper on Sunday-
schools in the villages. In 1900 I was elected chairman
of the Erpingham Sanitary Committee, a position which
I held for ten years until I left the district. In 1902
my health failed. I had a serious illness and was obliged
to give up the brick work. I moved to Gresham and
went to work for a Mrs. Sharpen as an agricultural labourer.
I intended to settle down as a labourer for the rest of
my life, but fate ruled otherwise, and I seemed to be
marked out for a different sphere. Against my own
personal wish, in the spring of 1903 I received another
pressing invitation from the Liberal Party to accept a
position as a speaker. This I refused at first, but eventually
accepted, with the understanding that I should return
home once a fortnight to attend the Guardians' meetings.
In the autumn of that year, after Mr. Chamberlain
started his Tariff Reform campaign, I went with the
newly formed Free Trade Union and kept with them
until the General Election of 1906. During my work
with this organization I helped in almost every bye-
election, worked in almost every county and had many
exciting experiences. But even in this capacity, although
all Agricultural Labourers Unions had been defunct for
some time, the Tory Party still continued their gross
libellous attacks upon me. They printed the last balance
sheets of the Unions, manipulated the figures in a
scandalous manner and endeavoured to show that I
had had all the money paid by the members, though they
knew I had not received a penny. Hundreds of thousands
of these leaflets were printed and spread broadcast. My
opponents would get to know where I was addressing
meetings and send men to distribute these leaflets at
the meetings. In many counties men became so enraged
at this treatment of me that when the man whose name
was on the leaflets appeared on the scene he had on
several occasions to beat a hasty retreat. In no case

FAREWELLS 97

did this move have its desired effect, as the great political
upheaval of 1906 proved.

After the General Election of 1906 the Free Trade Union
had no further employment for the speakers and they
paid them no retaining fee. I returned home and again
settled down to work as an agricultural labourer.

CHAPTER IX
RESURRECTIONS

No sooner was the General Election over (which brought
about the greatest Tory defeat that that Party had ever
experienced) than victimization became rife. Scores
of men were victimized on mere suspicion, especially
in Norfolk. The labourers appealed to me from all parts
of the country to help them to form another Union for
the agricultural labourers. The correspondence revealed
most glaring cases of victimization. I will give a sample
of what was happening. One correspondent told me
that during the election a lady canvassed a man who had
had not been to any meetings of either Party. He was
a very quiet fellow and used rather quaint and witty
sayings. When asked if he would promise to vote for
the Tory candidate he quietly asked her if she could keep
a secret ? She replied that she could. He then said,
" So can I," and gave no promise. Within a month
this man received notice to leave his work on the plea
that his employer was going to reduce hands, and a week
later he received a week's notice to leave his house.
This latter notice was put into effect. The man had a
wife and five children, and a friendly publican let him
have the use of his clubroom in which to live until he
could find another house.

This was only one case out of many, and I might say
that although these cases were well known, the Liberal
Party took no steps to protect these men.

These matters were brought to my notice in February

RESURRECTIONS 99

and March 1906, and letters kept coming to me containing
most pathetic appeals to form another Union. Why I
was the one to be written to I attribute to the fact that
I was the only one of the former leaders of the men taking
any part in public life. The others were either dead or
had retired into private life. Arch had retired, Z. Walker
was dead and many of the others had gone. I had con-
tinued in public life, retaining my membership of the
District and Parish Councils. Having again settled down
to work, however, I did not feel disposed again to accept
the turmoil of leading the men and shouldering the
responsibility of forming another Union. I did not feel
equal to the task, and, so far as I knew, there were no
means of raising funds for such a gigantic undertaking.
For some months I took no action and told my corre-
spondents that, if anyone would come forward to accept
the responsibility, I would place the benefit of my past
experiences at his service, that I would not only join
the Union, but would help him in every way I could,
but that I could not at my age accept the responsibility.
I had then reached the age of fifty-six. Further than
that, I could not bring myself to believe that the labourers
would ever again have the courage to assert their rights
and demand by organization justice for themselves,
their wives and children.

Still letters kept coming to me from all parts of the
country, but more especially from Norfolk.

I do not think I should ever have taken any steps to
comply with the requests but for the influence of my
wife. One night I returned home from my work and
read the usual batch of letters. I said to my wife : "I
do wish these poor people could find someone to lead
them. I don't feel equal to the task." Her reply was :
" You must try. There is no one else who will."

I looked into that dear face as I wish I could to-day,
and I pointed out to her what a lonely life she had led
in the past and that it would mean the same to her

ioo FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

again in the future. Her reply was : "If you will make
the effort, I will make the sacrifice."

This was indicative of the woman's noble spirit and
the faith she had in the righteousness of the cause. I
could hesitate no longer. I decided to take steps at once
to call a conference, knowing full well the huge task
which I was taking in hand. There had not been a shred
of a Union amongst the agricultural labourers for ten
years.

I have gone into considerable detail with this part
of my story in an endeavour to combat the false charge
that has been brought against me in certain quarters,
that all through my long public life I was always looking
for a soft job for myself and was always living on some-
one else without doing anything for it. I leave this
to the judgment of my readers. I think they will agree
that I have endeavoured to devote my whole life to the
cause of my fellows.

In the first week in June I took steps to devise means
of calling a conference. I first wrote to several Members
of Parliament who were known to me, laid the matter
before them and appealed for their help. Those to
whom I addressed letters included Mr. (now Sir)
Richard Winfrey, Mr. A. W. Soames, who sat for a
considerable number of years for the division for which
I had the honour of election in 1920, Mr. (now Sir) Robert
Price, and Mr. George Nicholls. These gentlemen all
sent donations, but some had doubts about the success
of the venture. Mr. Nicholls and Sir Richard Winfrey
not only sent donations, but promised to attend the
conference when held and render all the help they could.
Amongst other gentlemen I wrote to and who sent sub-
scriptions were the Earl of Kimberley and Mr. Herbert
Day of Norwich.

Altogether I received £10. I made arrangements to
hold the conference at North Walsham in Norfolk, and

RESURRECTIONS 101

engaged the club room of the Angel Hotel for July 6th.
I also provided for a tea for the delegates. We were to
have the conference at 2 p.m. and a public meeting in
the Market Place at 7.30 p.m., and I announced that
Mr. Richard Winfrey, M.P., Mr. George Nicholls, M.P., and
myself were to address the meeting. I also sent out
invitations to the following : Mr. W. B. Harris, Sleaford,
Lincolnshire ; Mr. J. Binder, C.C., Cambridgeshire ;
Mr. Blyth, Suffolk ; and the following in Norfolk :
Mr. W. G. Codling, Briston ; Mr. J. Sage, Kenninghall ;
Mr. H. A. Day, Norwich ; Mr. Holman, Shipdham ; Mr.
Israel Lake, Gresham ; and Mr. Baldwin, Cromer. All
attended with the exception of the last.

At the opening of the conference Mr. George Nicholls,
M.P., was voted to the chair and Mr. W. B. Harris to
the vice-chair. After the chairman had welcomed the
delegates, I was called upon to explain the objects of
the conference. Before doing so I read several letters
and went on to say that I had been asked to make another
attempt to form a Union for the agricultural labourers.
I explained that I thought a Union should be formed
for securing for the labourers better conditions of living,
assisting them to obtain allotments and small holdings,
to secure better representation on all local authorities,
and also representation in the Imperial Parliament, and
that its funds should be used for these purposes.

The following is a brief extract from my speech : —

GENTLEMEN, — You have been called together to consider the
advisability or otherwise of making another attempt to organize
the agricultural labourers. The calling of the conference is also
in response to a number of appeals from all parts of the Eastern
Counties. I think the desire to form another Union is general
and that the time is opportune for such an effort to be made. The
men have been disorganized for over ten years, and in consequence
their condition is no better than it was prior to 1872. But if such
an effort is to be successful, one thing is essential. There must
not be rival Unions. There must be one Union and one only,
catering for the agricultural labourers. The many rival Unions

102 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

that were raised in Arch's days were, I have no doubt, a great
factor in its fall. I think I ought to warn you that in forming
such a Union you have a great task in front of you. One thing
must be borne in mind. You cannot run such a Union on the
same lines as Trades' Unions are run in large centres of industry.
In consequence of the isolated condition of the labourers and
the great distances to travel, the expense will be very great and,
through the miserably low wage the labourer receives, the contri-
butions he will be able to pay will be very small. Therefore
accumulation of funds will be very slow. In my judgment it will
take years to build up a Union that will be effective in altering
the conditions of the labourer. But I have faith that it can be
done, and in due course the labourer will be able to take his place
with his fellows in the towns. One thing is certain, however.
A great deal of hard work will have to be done by someone. Also
great sacrifices will have to be made, and those responsible for the
running of the Union will come in for a great deal of abuse.

A long discussion followed as to the best method to be
pursued. Ultimately the following resolution was moved
and carried : —

That this conference of agricultural labourers considers the
time has come when steps should be taken to form a Union for
the agricultural labourers, and that a provisional committee
should be formed to carry this into effect.

Then the question of name arose. It was subsequently
agreed that the name should be : " The Eastern Counties
Agricultural Labourers' and Small Holders' Union."

Then followed a long discussion as to the objects, Mr.
Day contending that they should be confined to the
land question and that the Union should be run on much
the same lines as the old Irish Land League. This was
ruled out as being of no use to the labourer, and it was
urged that if it was to be successful it must be a Trade
Union in the fullest sense. This view was unanimously
endorsed. It was also decided that the rules should
be so framed as to enable the Union to assist the members
to obtain land and let it to the members.

The conference then proceeded to elect a provisional

RESURRECTIONS 103

committee to act to the end of the year, this committee
to use every endeavour to inaugurate the Union in the
various counties represented at the conference. The
following were elected to serve on the committee : —

President t Mr. George Nicholls, M.P.
Vice-President : Mr. W. B. Harris, Lincolnshire.
Treasurer : Mr. Richard Winfrey, M.P., Peterborough.
General Secretary : Mr. George Edwards, Gresham.
Executive Committee : Messrs. J. Binder, J. Sage, W. G. Codling.
H. A. Day, J. Ely, C. Holman and J. Stibbons.

At the conclusion of the conference the delegates took
tea together at the Angel Hotel. In the evening a large
public meeting was held in the market-place, near the
old cross. Mr. R. Winfrey, M.P., presided, and the
meeting was addressed by Mr. George Nicholls, M.P.,
Mr. H. A. Day, and myself. We explained what had
been done at the conference, and that we should visit
the town again shortly with the object of forming a branch
of the Union.

On going through the expenses of the day's proceedings
I found that they totalled £11, having had to pay the
delegates' rail fare, cost of room, tea and printing. I
had received only £10 in donations, and thus I was £i
out of pocket on the day. It will be seen that I was
left in a most difficult position from which to commence
organizing the labourers.

At the conclusion of the conference Mr. Day suggested
I should have to give all my time to the organizing
work. I pointed out to him that that was impossible
as I could not live without an income. Mr. Day then
said that the work had got to be done, and he undertook
to make himself responsible for the payment to me of
135. a week for the first twelve months to enable me to
give my whole time to the work. I realised this was
meagre remuneration, as I should have to keep my niece
at home to do the writing, whilst I went about forming

104 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

branches. Still, I knew if the movement was to be
successful someone would have to make a sacrifice, and
as I had set myself the task I agreed to do it.

I did it on these terms for the first year.

I cycled about six thousand miles during that year,
which averaged some bit over one hundred miles per
week, and for the first twelve months 135. per week was all
my niece and myself received for the work. She con-
ducted the correspondence and kept the accounts and I
spent five days in each week going about forming branches.
I was not able to do much before harvest, but I was able
to form the following branches : Kenninghall, Shipdham
and St. Faith's. Kenninghall was started with thirty
members, Shipdham with forty and St. Faith's with
twenty-five.

On the very day the conference met at North Walsham,
July 6, 1906, I was returned unopposed to the Norfolk
County Council for the Buxton Division. The seat became
vacant on the death of Mr. Charles Louis Buxton, who
had represented the division ever since the Council was
formed. Some of my friends insisted upon me being
nominated and promised to pay all the election ex-
penses. Mr. William Case of Tuttington was the other
candidate, but he withdrew and I was returned un-
opposed. I was at once put on to the Small Holding
Committee, in which work I was interested. My return
caused a great flutter in the Tory camp, and they deter-
mined I should not be returned unopposed at the general
election. At the general election of 1907 they put up
Colonel Kerrison, who beat me by fifty votes. This
proved my last defeat in seeking election to this Council.

As soon as harvest operations were completed I com-
menced work for the Union in all earnestness. During
the interval the committee had been hard at work drawing
up rules. I had a few copies of the rules of the old Norfolk

RESURRECTIONS 105

and Norwich Amalgamated Labour Union, and we first
decided to adopt the principles contained therein. After
careful consideration, and whilst anxious to run the Union
on democratic lines, we came to the conclusion that the
principles of the old Union would be impossible on the
grounds of expense and the smallness of the contribu-
tions of the members. We decided on centralization,
and by the time harvest was over we had got the rules
printed and ready for registration and membership cards
ready for use. We started our autumn campaign by a
big demonstration at Peterborough, at which the speakers
were Mr. John Ward, M.P., Mr. George Nicholls, M.P.,
Mr. R. Winfrey, M.P., and myself. During the autumn
I confined my labours to Norfolk. My method of working
was as follows : I would cycle out in the daytime into
villages, engage rooms, fill in blank bills with which I
had previously furnished myself and distribute them.
I always billed meetings a week ahead. We had a very
wet autumn in 1906 and many miles did I cycle in the
pouring rain. I never missed a day in going out to arrange
meetings and I never missed a single meeting. The
meetings were well attended and very seldom did I fail
to open a branch. I frequently had to act as my own
chairman. After I had spoken and explained the rules,
I then appealed to the men to join the Union. I soon
found that the men I was then appealing to were of quite
a different type to those we appealed to in the seventies.
They were more thoughtful. Therefore the progress
of the Union was not so rapid as in 1872, but it was a
steady growth. I had a feeling from the first that its
growth would be steady, but that it would attain a much
greater strength than the defunct Unions, and that the
work which it would be called upon to do would be of
a far wider nature and of greater importance than that
of the other unions.

From September 1st to December 3ist I opened forty-
nine branches with a membership of 1,500. As I look

io6 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

back to-day to those weary months I often wonder how
I stood the work, and my heart is sad when I think of
the lonely life led by my poor wife. I used to leave
home on the Monday morning, returning again on the
Saturday evening. As soon as I reached home I retired
to a little bedroom which I had cleared in my cottage
for an office, and there would help my niece with the
accounts and the week's correspondence. Then on the
Sunday I would again be away from home, conducting
services for the Primitive Methodists. I always made
it a point never to let my public work interfere with
my religious work. Besides addressing five meetings a
week and attending to the Guardians and District
Council work, I wrote a weekly article on the objects
of the Union in the Eastern Weekly Press, the People's
Weekly Journal and the Bury Free Press, and by so doing
kept the Union well before the working people, which
greatly assisted it.

I had not proceeded far before I experienced the eame
difficulty in finding branch secretaries as in the old days,
and young men soon became marked men. Our first
trouble of the kind arose at Ashill, Norfolk, where a
young man was elected branch secretary. He was
promptly told by his employer he must give up his office
with the Union or leave his employment. In several
other places pressure was put upon the men, which all
added to the difficulties of my task. Nevertheless, with
strong faith in the justness of the cause, I pushed on with
the work.

The Union was received with ridicule by the farmers
at the first, and they contended that its life would be
short, for if Arch had failed, then George Edwards, with
only a little local influence, must fail. They reckoned
without their book, and by the end of the year they
found that " old George Edwards " was more successful
in his work than they had given him credit for.

CHAPTER X
SUCCESS AT LAST

AT the end of the year the Provisional Committee was
so satisfied with the success of my efforts that they decided
to call a general meeting of the branches formed and to
invite the branches to send one delegate each. It was
left to me to make the arrangements, and Norwich was
selected as the place of meeting in the first week in
February. I engaged the large room at the Co-operative
Institute. By the time this delegate meeting was held
I had formed fifty-six branches with a membership of
nearly two thousand. Fifty-six delegates, together with
the members of the Provisional Committee, attended. After
paying all expenses incurred during the five months,
postage, printing of rules, that day's conference, etc.,
the treasurer was able to report a credit balance of
£47 7s- 5d. A statement to this effect was afterwards
given to the new Executive Committee.

By the first week in February 1907 I had completed
all the arrangements for the meeting, had the agenda
printed, prepared the Financial Statement and also had
my report printed. The meeting was most enthusiastic.
Mr. George Nicholls, M.P., presided and gave a most
inspiring address. My report was received with great
enthusiasm, and the meeting then settled down to
business. A resolution was moved " That this meeting
of delegates from the newly formed Union thanks the
Provisional Committee and the Secretary for their efforts

to again organize the agricultural labourers and that

107

io8 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

we at once form ourselves into a Union and accept the
rules as drawn up by the Provisional Committee." The
Council then proceeded to elect the officers and Executive
Committee, and the following were elected : —

President : Mr. George Nicholls, M.P.

Vice-President : Mr. H. A. Day.

Treasurer : Mr. Richard Winfrey, M.P.

General Secretary : Mr. George Edwards, C.C.

Executive Committee : Messrs. Thomas Thacker, W. G. Codling,

C. Holman, J. Stibbons, and J. Binder.

It was decided that I should receive no salary until
the Union had been running twelve months. My niece,
Miss Blanche Corke, was given an honorarium of £2 for
her services during the period of the past five months.
It was also decided she should receive 75. per week in
the future as assistant secretary.

As soon as this meeting was over I again set out single-
handed on a most vigorous campaign, Mr. Thomas
Thacker of East Dereham giving valuable aid in his
district. By March 3ist the balance at the bank stood
at £150 los. 3|d., which represented a saving upon the
quarter's working of £104 2s. lojd. I had enrolled
during the quarter 436 members. The entrance fees
amounted to £10 i8s. 2d., as we only charged 6d. entrance
fees and 4d. for youths under eighteen years. This spurred
me on to even greater efforts. It was, however, playing
very heavily on my health, besides the heavy organizing
work. The work at home increased as the Union increased,
and I frequently had to sit up nearly all night on my
return home at the week-end, as the clerical work at home
was more than my niece could do ; for, while she was a
good writer and fairly good at figures, she, like me, had
had no training in book-keeping and we were neither of
us clerks, and we had to devise our own methods in keeping
the books, which was not the quickest nor yet the best
method, and, as I had no organizing help, I was obliged
to be from home five whole days.

SUCCESS AT LAST 109

As I look back on those days and the long hours I had
to put in, never having an hour's rest, for I had to seize
every moment I could to inform myself on all the current
topics of the day, when getting my meals having a book
or newspaper in front of me, arousing myself early in
the morning and giving myself to the closest study, I
often think the then Executive was anything but Trade
Unionist. They were not only risking wearing my life
out with no remuneration (of which I did not complain),
but they were working my niece night and day for the
miserable sum of 75. per week, and they refused to let
me have even an assistant organizer until April 27th.
Still, I do not regret the sacrifice I made in the interest
of humanity.

On April 27th the first meeting of the Executive was
held at the Liberal Club, Peterborough, and so fast had
the Union grown during the four months that the Executive
was obliged to set on an assistant organizer. Mr. Thomas
Thacker was appointed until July, at a salary of 255.
per week, but with no guarantee that they would continue
the appointment after that date. This showed how
cautious the committee were and that they did not intend
to waste the members' money.

The appointment of an assistant organizer did not
relieve me of any work, for I continued my own organizing
work with the same vigour as before, and in addition I
had to organize my assistant's work, which also added
to the clerical work at home, and the Executive made
no effort to give me any assistance at home. By July
our contributions had increased from £116 95. nd. to
£133 os. id. We had enrolled during the quarter 350
members. The entrance fees received for the quarter
ending July were £9 153. 8d. Our balance at the end of
July stood at £242 35. 4d., which was a saving on the
quarter of £gi 55. gd.

The second meeting of the Executive was held at Cozens'
Temperance Hotel, King's Lynn, on Saturday, August 3rd,

no FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

when I presented my second quarterly report as shown
above. At this meeting Mr. Day, who had been respon-
sible for my 135. per week, said that he considered that
the Union had got into such a position that he thought
it ought to be able to pay its secretary, especially as
the Executive was employing a whole -time organizer.
It was then decided that I should receive a salary of 235.
per week and travelling and out-of-pocket expenses,
and that my niece should continue to receive 75. per week
as assistant secretary. Thus ended my year's work for
this Union. During the year I had cycled 6,000 miles,
which was over 100 miles per week.

In spite of the hard work and the long weary miles I
cycled on lonely roads, often late at night, still it was
a pleasant year's work, as I felt I was building up an
organization that would accomplish some great things
for this long neglected class, and I never felt that I was
engaged in a more divine work than I was then doing.
I had enrolled during the year 6,379 members. We had
taken in contributions during the two quarters we had
been officially started £299 ios., and with the £46 75. 5d.
handed over by the Provisional Committee as a balance
left over after paying all expenses with £63 75. in
donations from sympathizers, we had saved on the two
quarters' working £242 35. 4d., which I think everyone
must admit was no discredit to me after the twelve months
most strenuous work I had put in. But the year's work
was not without its humorous side. At one crowded
meeting I was addressing a man was present who was
evidently primed up for his job with plenty of beer. He
kept up a running fire of interruption. Some of the
women present wrote on a big card : " Here is the fool of
the fair who has sold himself to Bung." Then a number
of strong young fellows pinned it on his coat and lifted
him bodily on to the platform amidst the laughter and
jeers of the audience.

At this committee meeting Mr. Thacker was re-engaged

SUCCESS AT LAST in

at a salary of 255. per week. Having now been appointed
a paid official, I felt that the responsibility resting on
me was great, being the chief official of the Union, and,
as the committee had decided to meet only once a quarter,
they had placed great power into my hands to deal with
the various problems such as small disputes, lock-outs,
victimization, accident, and all cases needing legal assist-
ance. They also appointed Mr. W. E. Keefe of Norwich
the Union's solicitor, before whom I was instructed to put
all cases needing legal assistance. This I felt was power
and responsibility that ought never to be placed upon
one man, especially in an organization that was so rapidly
growing, and besides it was making one man an autocrat,
which I, as a democrat, strongly objected to. But the
Executive were staunch economists and decided to keep
the working expenses down to the lowest possible point
and they determined it should be so. The one thing
they closely scrutinized was the finance. My colleague
Mr. Thacker and myself set out in all earnestness, each
holding five meetings per week with good results. During
the quarter I had several lock-out cases and victimization
cases to deal with, which cost the Union several pounds.
I also put several cases of accidents into the hands of
Mr. Keefe which were successfully dealt with by him.
I ought to say here that Mr. Keefe has been a most able
and loyal solicitor to the Union. The Executive also
decided that I should prepare a quarterly financial state-
ment and present to them at their quarterly meeting
and also send it to each branch of the Union.

The disbursement during the midsummer quarter
was heavy owing to several cases of lock-out I was called
upon to support. Nothing particular happened to cause
much trouble during the autumn quarter. We en-
rolled 800 members and saved £127. Our balance
stood on December 31, 1907, at £361 8s. 2d. At the fourth
quarterly meeting held at Lynn, January 18, 1908, the
Executive again became anxious about the cost of

112 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

management and appointed a sub-committee to draw
up a scheme and report as to putting the Union on a
safer and cheaper basis. They also decided that the
General Council Meeting be held at Lynn on Saturday
February 22nd, and I be instructed to make all
arrangements. Further, that I be instructed to pro-
vide each delegate with lunch and pay him his
rail fare together with 2s. for loss of time. I don't think
this can be said to be extravagant, in fact to-day the
Trade Union world would consider it very mean. I
think what alarmed the committee was that the Tories
had commenced their old game and had raked up the
balance sheets of the old Union and were spreading them
broadcast. They would get to know where I was adver-
tised to speak and send a man to distribute the lying
leaflets from house to house in the village. But the
Executive need not have been alarmed, for the man
whom they were vilifying had got the confidence of
the labourers this time and they were not going to be
disorganized by such libellous leaflets. Hence the more
often the attack was made, the faster the Union grew.
The General Council Meeting was held on February 22,
1908, in the Central Hall, King's Lynn, and my balance
sheet showed that we had a balance in hand on Decem-
ber 3ist of £457 35. gd., a saving since the Union was
officially formed on February 4, 1907, of £410 i6s. 5d.,
which no one can say was bad achievement out of 2d. per
week contribution.

The following is an extract from my report :—

FELLOW WORKERS, — In presenting to you my first balance sheet
and report, I wish to thank you for the confidence you have
placed in me during the year. Also to thank the officers and
friends who have given me such valuable service in establishing
the Union. Our worthy President, Mr. George Nicholls, M.P.,
has spared no effort to help us and has attended as many meetings
as his parliamentary duties would permit him. Mr. Herbert Day
has rendered able assistance. . . . During the year I have attended
183 meetings for the Union, and in addition to these meetings

SUCCESS AT LAST 113

I have attended 83 meetings in connection with my duties as
Guardian and County Councillor. Mr. Thacker has addressed,
since his appointment in March, 170 meetings and has cycled
3,240 miles. I have cycled since January over 4,000 miles, and
since I commenced to organize for the Union in July 1906, over
7,000 miles.

We have received urgent appeals to visit other counties, but
the committee up to the present have only permitted me to visit
Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, outside of Norfolk branches.
In these two counties have been formed : — Cambridgeshire :
Friday Bridge, Leverington and Wisbech St. Mary's. Lincoln-
shire : Gidney Drove End, Gosberton, Holbeach, Sutton, Sutter-
ton, Walpole St. Andrews, Gedney Dyke, Sutton St. Edmunds
and Billingborough. In Norfolk we have made rapid progress
during the year. We have been called upon to place a large number
of cases in our solicitor's hands, which he has dealt with in a most
able manner. In three cases he was able to effect a settlement
which put into our members' pockets £236 I2S. 6d. I think the
Union ought to congratulate itself that it has such an able advocate
as Mr. Keefe. Brethren, in closing my report, let me give you
a note of warning. We are on the eve of a great social upheaval,
the greatest the world has ever seen. It has already begun by
the great Labour unrest throughout the industrial world. It is
a proof that the workers are determined upon better conditions
of labour. There is, however, a great fear that the capitalist
class will use every means in their power to prevent the emanci-
pation of the workers, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Alas ! how often have we in the days of the past in our efforts to
bind you together in the bonds of unity had to exclaim, like the
prophets of old, " who have believed our report ? " Our class
has been contented for so long to be blinded by the capitalist class
and has put too much faith in the political parties instead of
thinking and acting for themselves. This spirit of apathy and
childlike dependence must cease. You must think and act for
yourselves and take an intelligent interest in all the great social
problems that affect you as a class.

Considering all the opposition that we shall have to meet, it
will require our united efforts to prevent the privileged class
crushing the noble efforts that are now being made for industrial
freedom. We are now celebrating the first anniversary of the
establishment of our Union. Its progress has not been quite so
rapid as some of us had hoped after the bitter experience of the
rural workers during their disorganized state. We thought that
it would have required very little effort to have organized at least
20 per cent., and it would not have been necessary to have spent
a large amount of money and time. I was well aware by my past

8

114 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

experience that a great deal of opposition would have to be en-
countered, but the cost of organizing is certainly beyond my expec-
tations. Notwithstanding all this, there is a good awakening,
and I have strong faith that before many years our Union will
become a great national movement, which certainly will be essential
if the rural worker is to take his part in the social battle that is
about to be fought.

You are the worst paid and worst housed and work the longest
hours of any other class. While every other class have their
holidays, you have none. The system under which you hire your
cottages makes you complete slaves. Your poverty-striken con-
dition is a standing disgrace to a country that boasts of its high
state of civilization and calls itself Christian. It is unjust and
inhuman. This terrible curse and stigma will have to be abolished.
It will, however, be a most arduous task. The battle will be
fierce and long. Some of us may have to lay down our weapons
of warfare before the battle is over, but it will have to be fought
and the victory won. Take courage, then, my brethren, go for-
ward with manly conduct, be sober, let your action be honest and
straightforward to your employers, and your complete emanci-
pation is assured.

Courage then, my Brother,

The day has come at last ;
The clouds are lifting quickly,

The night is breaking fast.
Be strong then of courage,

Our cause is just and right,
And he who holds by justice

Is sure to win the fight.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS,

General Secretary.
GRESHAM, December 31, 190?-

A resolution was passed adopting my report and
balance sheet and a vote of thanks was given me for
my year's work. The Council elected an almost new
Executive. Mr. Fetch was put on representing Lincoln-
shire, Mr. Arnett, Mr. Giles and Mr. Reeder were new
members. A new spirit was infused by the election of
the new members, but even these were afraid to launch
out and engage more organizers and extend our borders

SUCCESS AT LAST 115

into other counties, but decided to confine my labours
to the Eastern Counties. The new system of working
the Union, however, increased the clerical work at home,
as I was responsible for the mapping out of the districts
for the superintendents and for keeping a record of their
work. I was also expected to continue my organizing
work as before, which I did. We made rapid progress,
and by March 3ist we had enrolled 700 new members
during the quarter, and when the Executive met on
April 25th I felt, unless there was speedily an altera-
tion, I should soon have a serious breakdown, as
the night and day work was telling on my health. It
took my niece all her time to keep the accounts, hence
I had to have all correspondence sent on to me day by
day for me to answer, and, further, there were so many
small cases of disputes and victimization that had to
be investigated. The responsibility upon me was too
great a mental strain, still I kept at it, as success was
attending my work and it buoyed me up and kept me
going. Still, the evil day had to come, and in June I
broke down and had to take three weeks' complete rest.
My niece was also on the point of getting married. The
committee met to receive the report for the June quarter,
the meeting being held in Lynn on July I4th. I was
able to report that we had enrolled 1,040 members during
the quarter and that we had added to our capital £175
during the quarter, and that our capital now stood at
£632 I2s. 6d. The committee decided to give me a free
hand to do such work as I felt able to, with the under-
standing that the committee wished me to take sufficient
rest to enable me to recoup my health. I took three weeks'
rest from all public meetings. At this meeting the com-
mittee presented my niece with a case of knives and forks
and an artistic address in recognition of her services
to the Union. They also decided to increase my salary
53. per week to enable me to secure another assistant.
The joint salary of my niece and myself was 303., 73.

ii6 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

per week for her and 235. for myself. Now I was
to pay an assistant I2s. per week and I receive 235.
as before. My niece was married on August 4th. She
and her husband, Mr. W. Painter, went to Lancashire
to live, and Miss Alice Pike of Gresham entered the service
of the Union as an assistant secretary. We still kept
my small bedroom for an office, for which I never charged
a penny. It was, however, being crowded out, and what
the Sanitary Inspector would have said if he had made
an inspection I often wonder.

At this time I received an application from the East
Winch Branch secretary to hold a Sunday meeting on
the common in that village. I objected, and only con-
sented on the condition that the meeting should be of
strictly religious character. This was agreed to, and on
the last Sunday in July the meeting was held, and I
advertised it as follows : —

EASTERN COUNTIES AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS'
AND SMALL HOLDERS' UNION.

A Camp Meeting will be held under the auspices of the above
on Sunday on the Common, East Winch. Services to commence
at 2.30 and 6.30 p.m. Addresses will be given by C. Reynolds,
George Edwards, General Secretary, and others. The Westacre
Brass Band will be in attendance. Sankey's hymns will be sung.

It was a beautifully fine Sunday, and the services were
attended by over 2,000 people. Such a sight had never
been witnessed before in the village. The singing was
most hearty, accompanied by the band. I took for my
text in the afternoon " The labourer is worthy of his
hire," and in the evening my text was " Thy kingdom
come." The evening discourse was fully reported in
the Lynn News. This caused a great stir. Some denounced
it as mixing up politics with religion, others said they had
never heard the Gospel preached like it before, and
demands for Sunday meetings came in rapidly. Before
the summer was over similar meetings were held at Wells,

SUCCESS AT LAST 117

South Creake and Swaffham, which were attended by
thousands of people. The later meetings were addressed
by Mr. George Nicholls, M.P., Mi. R. Winfrey, M.P., Mr. H.
A. Day and myself. This was the beginning of the Sunday
meetings, and so long as I was responsible for conducting
them they were always conducted on strictly religious
lines. We always opened with prayer and lessons from
the Scriptures were always read. Large collections were
received. So great was the interest taken in them that
the committee decided to continue them in 1909. They
also decided to have some Labour hymns of their own,
and Mr. Day, Mr. Green and I were asked to make a
selection. Mr. Green composed some of the most beauti-
ful verses I have ever seen, and they were set to Sankey's
tunes. I often wish the Union had kept them, for they
have never found better. The following are a few of
them : —

THE MODEL CHURCH.
(Tun* ; Sankey 608.)

Wife, I have found the Labour Church

And worshipped there to-day :
It's not like those so long we've known

Where parsons preach for pay.
But one that's built of human love

To bless the human race,
No church that ere before it stood

Filled so divine a place.

It's such a church that I, dear wife,

This very day have found.
There's no deception in its faith,

It stands on hallowed ground.
Ground sanctified by martyr's blood

Who o'er its surface trod,
When battling for their liberty

Their Conscience and their God.

Oh, come with me, I pray thee, wife,

And worship at its shrine,
Give thy adhesion to its Cause,

And make its interest thine.

ii8 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Its songs are of the right to live

For every one who toils,
With their freedom of accession

To live upon the soil.

My heart grew restive at its words,

My spirit caught the fire,
I joined the utmost of my voice

To that most ardent choir,
And sang as in my youthful days,

Let tyrants prostrate fall,
Bring forth the honest man of toil,

And crown him, crown him, crown him,
Crown him best of all.

Come, wife, that fight will soon be o'er

The victory's nearly won :
The better land is just ahead,

I see its rising sun.
We're nearing now its happy shore,

Where streams of plenty run,
And there we'll never want again,

There'll be no sorrow there,
In that just land where all is love,

There'll be no sorrow there.

THE UNION LIGHT.
(Tune : " Stand up for Jesus.")

Stand up, the men of Labour,

Who toil upon the land.
For better homes and wages

Make one united stand.
Your captains, they will lead you,

If you will follow on,
Now is the time, O comrades,

Haste age to come along.

STRONG HUMAN LOVE
(Tune i 'Lead, Kindly Light.")

Strong, human love ! within whose steadfast Will

Is always peace.
O stay with me, storm-tossed on waves of ill ;

Let passions cease.

Come thou in power within my heart to reign,
For I am weak and struggle has begun.

SUCCESS AT LAST 119

This book, which contains some of the finest phrases
with twenty-six songs, was used for years at our meetings
as our official hymn-book, but after a time it was re-
vised and in my judgment some of the best hymns were
left out. Still, I must not complain, as young folks are
anxious to keep up to date.

The committee at their last meeting took the step of
forming Conciliation and Arbitration Councils, and they
decided to move the following resolution at the General
Council Meeting: —

That the Executive be authorized to endeavour to form Con-
ciliation and Arbitration Boards for the area in which the Union
works. On such Boards the employers and labourers be equally
represented and an outside Chairman be appointed, and they
shall have power to consider all questions in this area of wages
and conditions of work and for the immediate future. Pending
the carrying out of this, the Executive Committee be instructed
to request the Farmers' Federation to agree to a rise of is. per
week from March next.

So far as this resolution was concerned the Farmers'
Federation refused to meet us. It was, however, evident
that the men were getting restless, and I could see that
unless the Farmers' Federation were prepared to meet
us there would be a grave danger of a serious outbreak
in the near future. We closed the year 1908, however,
with a balance of £997 i8s. 6d.

In September 1908 Mr. Rippingall of Langham died
and a vacancy was caused in the Walsingham County
Council Division. At the request of the members living
in this district and with the permission of the Executive
I was put forward as a Labour candidate. This time I
decided I would run purely as an independent Labour
candidate, and that I would have nothing more to do
with either political party. I had all my bills printed
in the Union colour, green. I also used the motto I
selected for the Union : " Be just and fear not." I

120 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

fought the election single-handed. I acted as my own
agent and arranged my own meetings, the only assistants
I had being my colleague Mr. Thomas Thacker and Mr.
Robert Green. My assistant did the clerical work. We
addressed all the envelopes, folded all the addresses our-
selves and posted them. We had meetings in every
parish in the district. The labourers were very enthusi-
astic. I soon found the leading Liberals were most
anxious to find some excuse to vote against Labour in
spite of what I had done for the party in North Norfolk.
The excuse they found was no party politics in County
Council elections. Yet, strange to say, my opponent
Mr. Walker and his agent were strong Tories. No one
thought I stood a shadow of a chance as a direct Labour
candidate. The contest lasted three weeks and it was a
most strenuous fight. My colleague Mr. Thacker and
myself worked night and day. We threw all our strength
into the contest, holding meetings and addressing
envelopes during the day. As the election drew near
we realized it would be a close contest. My opponents
were confident that they were winning .On the day of
the election the farmers and tradesmen rallied up to
the support of my opponent. Every available convey-
ance was brought up to his support and all my supporters
had to walk. Many had to walk three and four miles
to vote after they had done their day's work, but did
it cheerfully, many going to vote before going home to
tea. At the close of the poll everyone realized it was
a very close fight. Even the Tories were not so sure
that they had won. I appointed my colleague and Mr.
H. J. Gidney, who rendered valuable help during the
election, as my counting agents. The counting of the
votes was done in the Returning Officer's house, and then
for the first time I found out that his son was my
opponent's agent and had been acting as Deputy Returning
Officer. To this arrangement I raised the strongest pro-
test. The counting was most exciting ; we kept side by

SUCCESS AT LAST 121

side all the time, and at the close the Returning Officer
declared we had tied. We were not satisfied and demanded
a recount, and, further, the number of votes did not corre-
spond with counterfoils. The result of the recount left
us as before. Still, there were four papers short. At this
stage the keen eye of my colleague detected four papers
under the looking-glass, and these four votes were mine.
None knew how the ballot papers got under the glass,
but they were there and were mine, and I was declared
elected. My opponents were indignant, and protested
that when the general election for the Council came
their candidate would fight again. But this the poor
man was not allowed to do, for within three months
after this contest he was taken seriously ill and died.

At the yearly meeting in March 1909, when the election
of the committees took place, I was put on to the Small
Holdings Committee, Public Health Committee and
Old Age Pensions Committee. These committees I felt
more deeply interested in. The first was a movement
which the Union had made a part of its object.

On squaring up the accounts of the election I found
that it had cost £3 195., which was caused by hire of
rooms, printing and postages.

I was the first direct Labour representative elected
on to the County Council, and, being free from any
political ties, I felt myself free to take any action I thought
was best in the interest of the class I directly repre-
sented. I devoted most of my energies to the working
of the Small Holdings Act. I soon found, however,
we were up against a big problem and that land was
not so easy to get as I had thought it was before I
was a member of the committee. The Act was sur-
rounded with so much red tape and the landlords'
interests were safeguarded at every turn, which enabled
them to put obstacles in the way and make it most difficult
to obtain land that we could let to the men at reason-
able rents, and our progress was very slow. Hundreds

122 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

of applications for land were sent in, varying from five
acres to fifty, especially after my election, as they
apparently thought I, being a Labour member, would
carry everything before me. Apparently they thought
that we had nothing to do but to go and take the land
and buy it in the same way as we go and buy any
other article. Hence hundreds of men got tired of waiting.
But we made good progress, and by October 1909 we
had obtained over a thousand acres of land and put over
115 men on to the land.

At the general election of the Council in 1910 I moved
from the Walsingham District to the Free Bridge Lynn
Division, according to the promise I had made previous
to my going to Walsingham at the bye-election. This
time I was fighting a sitting member and one of the
largest farmers in Norfolk. I again stood as a direct
Labour candidate. This time I had less help than
before, as my colleague was fighting the Litcham Division
for a seat on the Council and Mr. Robert Green was
fighting the Walsingham Division which I had left.
The only helper as a speaker was my old friend Mr.
Thomas Higdon, the hero of the Burston School Strike.
The contest was a sharp one. My opponent had the
help of several of the members of the Council, both
Liberal and Tory, who were being returned unopposed.
This contest nearly knocked my assistant Miss Pike and
myself up, but in spite of the number of speakers brought
into the division, I won the election by a majority of
eighty. I had, however, in this contest a good deal of
local help from amongst my own people, as we were
better organized in this division, notably Mr. Matthew
Berry of East Winch and Mr. James Coe of Castleacre.

At the first meeting of the new Council I was put on
to the following committees : Public Health, Mental
Hospital, Small Holdings, Old Age Pensions, Western
Highways. From this moment I was treated with the
greatest amount of respect by every member of the

SUCCESS AT LAST 123

Council and listened to with interest. I set myself to
work diplomatically to accomplish the things for which
I was sent there, for I found on going into the Mental
Hospital, although the problem of dealing with those
mentally affected is a pathetic one, still to me it was
pleasant work, as it touched my humanity, and I found
Dr. Thompson, the Medical Superintendent, most human
and kind, and beloved by all brought into contact
with him. I found also that whilst demanding strict
discipline, as he must do, still to his staff he was most
fair and always willing to listen to a grievance. I have
had to discuss matters with him at different times as
the Trade Unions' representative on the committee, and
I am pleased to say we have been able to make many
improvements in the working conditions of the staff
since I have been on the committee. About this time
they were engaged in erecting a nurses' home. This
completed, we then pushed through another scheme,
new stores and hall which is used for balls and entertain-
ment for the inmates and staff. I am pleased to say
that every comfort for these poor unfortunate creatures
is studied. I have had to put up one fight since I
have been on the committee in connection with the
dietary. I fought most strenuously the question of
margarine, but got defeated.

The Small Holdings movement made rapid progress.
I soon found this added considerably to my labours.
It meant nearly two days per week, and with my District
Council and Board of Guardians work I was very heavily
harnessed with local government work. It was, how-
ever, educational and interesting. About this time I
was elected Chairman of the Erpingham Rural District
Council Sanitary Committee, but I used to so arrange
my Union work that I never neglected one of their
meetings.

CHAPTER XI
UNREST

ON February 20, 1909, the third General Council Meeting
of the Union was held in St. James's Hall, King's Lynn,
and by the resolutions that were sent in from the
various branches I was satisfied that the men were getting
restless and that without great care trouble was facing
us in the near future, and that it was imperative that
we should be taking some steps to secure some improve-
ment in the working condition of our members. The
committee, however, could not see that there was any
danger ; but I could see it, and I did persuade the
Executive to allow me to write to the Farmers' Federa-
tion and invite them to meet us and discuss the question
of some readjustment in wages. This I did, but it was
again refused. On receipt of this refusal the Executive
passed a resolution at their meeting held on April 24th
that Mr. Nicholls and Mr. Winfrey be requested to take
steps to have the agricultural labourers included in any
scheme of arbitration that might be formed. They
also instructed me to write every branch that when
they desired increase in wages they must communicate
with me and that I would suggest what action was to
be taken, and that I was to advise all members to sign
a paper requesting a rise, and that I be instructed to
enclose the same and forward it to each employer. Here
were more superhuman responsibilities placed on my
shoulders, making me absolutely responsible for every

trouble that might arise. As I look at these old minutes

124

UNREST 125

that were passed, without complaining of the action
of the Executive, I sometimes wonder what kind of man
the Executive thought I was. They must have thought
I was superhuman, which I was not by any means, for
I had very serious limitations. Never before had any
one man such grave responsibilities put upon him,
and I knew it and it worried me beyond degree. But
I faced the work with great faith in the eternal resources
and trust in Divine help.

I had, however, one great trouble. My dear wife,
who had been such a help to me, began to fail in health,
both mentally and bodily, and I saw the end was coming.
During the summer it was my misfortune to be insulted
by a drunken man, a son of a small farmer at Sharrington.
I was advertised to address a meeting near the old cross
at Sharrington. On my arrival at the place of meeting
this man lay on the green drunk. As soon as I com-
menced to speak he commenced to brawl and shout
so that no one could be heard. When I asked him to
be quiet he got up and struck me a violent blow in the
chest. What else he would have done had he not been
stopped I am unable to say. As it was I was laid
up for a week and had to go to a doctor. The man
was summoned before the Holt Bench and he was
fined £i.

The Executive at the meeting held on April 24th
decided that the Union should be affiliated with the
Trade Union Congress, and that we should pay on the
basis of 3,000 members. I was elected delegate to attend
the Congress at Ipswich on September 6th, which I
did, and had a most cordial reception by the delegates
and was especially mentioned in the President's address.
I attended the Congress and spoke on the system of
tied cottages. Mr. Smillie, on behalf of the miners,
moved the following resolution : —

This Congress urges upon the Labour Members in the House
of Commons to take up at onc« the question of the eviction of

126 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

workmen and their families from their homes during trade disputes
and do everything possible to pass into law a measure that would
put an end to this cruel method of warfare.

Although this resolution did not quite meet the case
of the agricultural labourer, I supported it, as it gave
me an opportunity to bring before the public's notice
the difficult position the tied cottage system put the
agricultural labourers in. I made the following speech : —

The delegates coming from the large centres of industry have
no idea of the seriousness of the question from the standpoint of
the agricultural labourers. If a town worker is evicted from his
house he can soon get another in an adjoining street. That is
not the case with the agricultural labourer. If he is evicted from
his cottage he cannot get another in the same village nor in any
of the five or six villages near him. I hold in my hand a copy
of an agreement which an agricultural labourer has to enter into
with the landlord on some estates before he takes his cottage.
It reads as follows : —

" I, the undersigned, agree to hire the cottage in the Parish

of the property of at a rental

of and agree to give the cottage up at a week's

notice should the landlord require it for any other workman.

I also agree not to keep any pigs or fowls without first obtain-
ing permission from the landlord or his agent.

I will also act as night-watchman when required, and give any
information I may have that will lead to the conviction of any-
one seen poaching on the estate.

I also undertake not to harbour any of my family who may
misconduct themselves in any way.

I also agree on leaving my cottage to hand over my copper and
oven to the landlord or his agent and not to disturb the bricks
or to remove these utensils until the landlord or his agent have
refused to purchase them.

I will also undertake to live at peace with my neighbours and
to lead an honest and respectable life.

I will, before admitting any of my family home, apply to the
landlord or his agent for permission, giving particulars on a form
provided by the landlord, their names and ages, also if married
or single, and how long they want to stay."

That is the kind of agreement agricultural labourers are called
upon to sign. It shows the Congress the nature of the difficulties

UNREST 127

that confront agricultural labourers. You might say the labourers
are not intelligent enough to combine : they are intelligent enough
if they have the freedom. Only this week, since I have been at
this Congress, I have received a telegram from our solicitor who
is contesting a case before the Grimston Bench on behalf of the
Agricultural Labourers' Union. It relates to a labourer who
obtained permission for a holiday. But when he went back to
work he was discharged and received a week's notice to leave his
cottage. He could not get another, and an ejectment order was
applied for. Our solicitor in his telegram says the magistrates
would have granted the ejectment order, but he was able to defeat
it on technical grounds. This poor man's wife is within a month
of her confinement, and, had the ejectment order been granted,
his wife and four children would have been thrown on to the road.
I ask you to do all you can to bring this matter to an issue and
see if a Bill cannot be brought into Parliament giving the agri-
cultural labourer security of tenure. Labourers who live under
conditions such as I have described can neither make applications
for allotments nor yet serve on local authorities. If they attempted
to do such things, they are marked men and are turned out of their
cottages at a week's notice. I trust that the cruel eviction businesi
will soon become a thing of the past.

After some further discussion the resolution was carried
unanimously, and for the first time the system under
which the labourer has to hire his cottage was brought
before the public. It has been a hardy annual at the
Trade Union Congress ever since.

This exposure caused a tremendous sensation through-
out the country. For months I was inundated with
letters asking for the names of estates. Others sought
for information for the purpose of writing articles in
the press. It gave a wonderful impetus to the Union.

During the summer I held a number of Sunday services
under the auspices of the Union. After I had addressed
one of these meetings a rather exciting incident happened.
When attending a meeting in a village in Norfolk a
clergyman was at the meeting and expressed a wish to
speak privately to me, and we adjourned to a room in
the inn. On entering the room he said he had heard
that I had been blaspheming the name of Jesus and

128 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

demanded that I make an apology to him (the clergy-
man). I told him I had done nothing of the kind, and,
so far as apologizing to him, he would be the last man
I should apologize to. Whereupon he informed me he
was a lightweight champion boxer, and if I did not there
would be bloodshed, and he came towards me. I at once
pushed him over and left the room and went back to
the meeting and reported what had taken place. Need-
less to say he had very soon to leave for his own safety.

During the autumn it became evident to me that
trouble was looming in the near future. Numbers of
small disputes took place, which I had to deal with
on my own responsibility and which caused a good
deal of anxiety.

As we approached the end of the year the branches
were asked to send in resolutions for the General Council.
Most of them were demanding that the Executive should
take up the question of an increase in wages, Saturday
half-holiday and a forty-eight hour week. At the
December Executive I again warned the Executive that
I feared we should soon have to face trouble as I was
sure the members would soon press for an increase in
consequence of the rise in the cost of living. I
urged them to allow me to call them together at
any time to discuss the best method of grappling with
the situation and to obtain the increase so long
delayed.

But they seemed to think I was able to deal with
the situation. The General Council of the Union was
not held in 1910 until March igth. It was held in the
Central Hall, King's Lynn. The reason for the Council
meeting not being held until March was the General
Election in January and the County Council Election
in March. This Council Meeting was attended by nearly
one hundred delegates. The greatest interest was taken
in the proceedings. There were many resolutions on
the agenda dealing with hours of labour and wages.

UNREST 129

The resolution dealing with Saturday half-day was
warmly debated and a resolution carried that the new
Executive be instructed to take steps to secure the
Saturday half -day, one journey all the year round and
an increase of is. per week at once. At the close of the
Council a short meeting of the new Executive was held.
Mr. George Nicholls presided. I again pointed out to
them the seriousness of the situation and told them I
was sure there was trouble looming in the near future,
and that the labourers, so far as Norfolk was concerned,
would insist on an attempt being made for an increase
in wage and an improvement in their working conditions.
I urged them to give me more help and to allow me to
bring them together at any time, even by wire if necessary ;
but this they refused and held that I was quite able
to deal with any dispute that might arise without calling
the committee together. The fact was that, while I
had an Executive who were able and earnest and anxious
to do their best to build up the Union, they were inex-
perienced so far as Trade Unionism was concerned.
They were always anxious to keep working expenses
down. At the committee the night before the Council
the Treasurer, Mr. Richard Winfrey, wrote complaining
about the increased expenditure during the year for
organizing work, although we had saved during the year
1909 £503 us. 8Jd. and had only spent £771 95. 9|d.
out of a total income of £1,275 is. 6d. This expenditure
was for lock-out pay, postages and rent of rooms.
Salaries paid during the year were for my assistant
secretary, Miss Pike, and myself £91 ; divided as follows :
Miss Pike I2s. per week, £31 45.; myself £i 35. per
week, £59 i6s. ; my assistant organizer, Mr. Thomas
Thacker, £i 55. per week, £65. Total salaries for the
three of us £156. Yet the Treasurer, in his anxiety to
save money, thought this was too high an expenditure.
Probably as an economist he was right, but no one
can say that those who did the work were overpaid,

9

130 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

I left the Executive and the General Council on
March 19, 1910, with a very heavy heart, for I could
see by the temper of the men that they were determined
within a very short time to press for an improvement
in their conditions of living and in my judgement they
were justified. In fact, it was long overdue, for the
cost of living was rapidly rising, and I also knew that
the farmers, as they had done in the days of the other
Union, would fight this honest desire on the part of the
labourers to its bitter end. The saddest thing for me
was I could not get my Executive to see it and they
left me to face it single-handed. But I set to work
to prepare for the inevitable whenever it did come. I
was determined to put my back against the wall and
stand by the men, and at the same time to do all I could,
whenever the trouble did arise, to bring the two sides
together.

I had not long to wait. On April 5th I received a
letter from Mr. Harvey, the secretary of the Trunch
Branch, informing me that his members objected to work-
ing ten hours a day unless they received a rise of is. per
week, a not very extravagant demand. I saw at once
that the trouble I had for so long tried to impress upon
my Executive had arrived, in fact I felt convinced the
farmers were anxious to try their strength. On receipt
of the letter I at once wrote to the branch secretary,
instructing him to call a special meeting of his members
for April nth and at the same time telling him that no
action must be taken until I had met them and obtained
full particulars and laid them before the Executive, for
in spite of what the Executive had done I was determined
I would not take on my shoulders the responsibility of
a strike without the Executive being called together
to decide it and take their share of responsibility. I
received no further information during the week, and
I expected nothing would take place until I had an
opportunity of meeting the men and discussing the

UNREST 131

matter with them. But to my surprise on Monday
April nth I saw in the Daily Press that the men had
struck work. Altogether thirty men were affected. It
appears that the farmers had forced a lock-out by refusing
to withdraw the notice until the men had time to meet
me and discuss the matter with them. I was, however,
determined to prevent an open rupture if possible. On
Monday April nth I attended the Erpingham Board
of Guardians, of which the Secretary of the Farmers'
Federation was deputy clerk. During the day we had
an interview, and I promised that if he would prevent
the importation of Federation labour I would try and
persuade the men to go back to work until representa-
tives of the two organizations could meet and come to
some arrangement, he undertaking to persuade the
farmers to reinstate all the men without prejudice.
This he did. I, with Mr. Robert Green, Mr. W. Codling
and Mr. Herbert Day, met the men at Trunch in the
evening and thoroughly discussed the cause of the
dispute with them. The facts were as follows : In
March, as was the custom, the farmers requested the
men to work ten hours a day. This the men agreed to
on condition that the employers would give them an
increase of is. per week. This the employers refused
to do and gave the men a week's notice to leave unless
they worked the ten hours, the men accepting the notice,
which expired on April 8th. I advised the men to go
back to work until the committee could meet and some
arrangement could be made in reference to their hours
of labour and conditions of work. This the Knapton
men agreed to do, and on Tuesday morning I received
a report that the Knapton men had gone back to work
on a nine-hour day. I at once wrote to Mr. J. T. Willis
the following letter, which will show how anxious I was
to avoid a dispute and to meet the farmers, which I
regret to say the farmers for years refused to do.

132 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

FLITCHAM,

April 10, 1910.
J. T. WILLIS, ESQ.,

Secretary, Farmers' Federation,
Sheringham.

DEAR SIR,

I was pleased to hear from my representative at the
Trunch district before leaving home this morning that some kind
of a truce had been arranged between the employers and their
men, which I think is a credit to both parties concerned; but to
avoid any unpleasantness in the future and in order to arrive at
a settlement that will be satisfactory to both parties, I beg to
suggest to your committee that a committee be formed consisting
of an equal number of employers and employed without prejudice
to any one, with you and myself in addition, to represent the two
organizations and discuss the whole question of hours and wages.
I have hurried my committee on, and they will meet on Monday
April 1 8th, probably at Sheringham, when the whole question
will be discussed from our point of view. I shall be glad to hear
from you before that date in reference to the above suggestion,
and hope the truce will be maintained until after that date.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS,
General Secretary,
Agricultural Labourers' and Small Holders' Union.

To this letter I received no reply, but I heard from
my representative during the week that the farmers had
broken the truce and were again demanding that the
men should work a ten-hour day, which they resolutely
refused to do. When the men at Trunch met me on
Saturday April i6th I found them all out again and very
indignant at the treatment they had received from the
employers. I soon found that all hope of a settlement
was gone. The meeting was largely attended and most
enthusiastic. I had never before witnessed such a spirit
of determination. I addressed the men in a most hope-
ful tone, although in the first instance they were a little
out of order. A resolution was passed without a dis-
sentient voice urging upon the Executive to support them,
and thus the trouble began.

UNREST 133

My first effort to effect a settlement by peaceful means
had failed. I could plainly see what was in front of
me. I knew that the brunt of the battle would fall on
me and I should have poured on my head showers of
abuse and the grossest misrepresentation. But I knew
the men's cause was just and their demands moderate,
and I made up my mind I would fight their battle
honestly and justly. The Executive met on Monday
April i8th and decided to support the men to the utmost.

The struggle commenced in earnest. The men set
themselves to it like grim death. The farmers became
furious. The Farmers' Federation imported non-unionists
into the villages, but no one would lodge them, so the
farmers had to make provision for them. These men
were not many of them efficient workmen. They
received IDS. per week more than the labourers had asked.
They also had lodgings free and a cook found to look
after them. They were also supplied with plenty of
beer. Policemen were sent into the village to keep
order, as they said, but there was no need for it. For
one thing I had pressed on the men that they must
conduct the dispute in a peaceful way and not on any
account allow themselves to be provoked into breaking
the peace, for if they did I would not lead them. They
received many provocations, but with no avail. Many
threats were thrown out to them. The women dressed
up an effigy and set it up in their garden and made its
legs black, and wrote on it " blackleg." This the police
ordered them to take down. I came into the village
at the time and told the police to mind their own busi-
ness or I should report them. No more was heard of it
Many attempts were made to evict these men from their
houses, but failed. One thing in the men's favour was
that Mr. Bircham of Knapton was under notice to leave
his farm. It was up for sale. I was on the County
Council and a member of the Small Holdings Committee.
I advised these men to make an application to the County

134 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Council for a small holding, which many of them did
for five, ten, and even up to twenty acres, and so great
was the demand that, when the farm was put up for
sale, the Small Holdings Committee was one of the bidders
and bought it. When this became known the farmers
became more furious than ever.

I, of course, came in for all the credit for this and they
were not far wrong. I look upon this as one of the
best pieces of work I have been able to do for my people.
So angry did the opponents of the men become that they
became threatening in their attitude towards me, so much
so that the men would insist on acting as my bodyguard
when I went into the district, and it would have been
a sorry day for any man who dared to have attempted
to molest me. I set myself at once to collect funds to
enable me to pay the men that had families more than
strike pay, which was los. per week. The subscriptions
came in fast. Our first collection was at a meeting held
on a Sunday at Knapton when over a thousand people
were present. The meeting was addressed by myself,
Mr. Day, Mr. Robert Green, Mr. Thacker, and in the
evening some friends came over from Norwich, amongst
them being Mr. W. R. Smith, now the able President
of the Union. This was the first time we had met and
we soon became fast friends. The result of the day's
collection was over £7 ios., and thus a good start
was made. The men themselves were in fine form. This
meeting did the greatest good in every respect. It
awakened a spiritual interest such as there had not been
for a very long time. I devoted my time during the
week to holding public meetings and making collections
for them. I never missed a Saturday night in going
over to pay the men. This, however, meant many a
long weary night cycle ride and long hours for my poor
assistant at home. But the worst had yet to come.
The struggle continued all the summer, and I don't think
any one man suffered a penny loss. All the applicants

UNREST 135

for small holdings and several of the men who had been
locked out became tenants in October on the very farm
on which they had been locked out a few months before.
All of them were allowed to keep in their houses, so
that we were able to find work elsewhere for those that
could not take any land. Thus in this district, although
the dispute lasted over six months, we won a notable
victory and its effects are felt to-day, for the Trunch
Branch is one of our largest branches in the Union, and
Mr. Harvey, their first branch secretary, is still their
secretary, and is to-day a member of the Norfolk County
Council and a Justice of the Peace. In this district we
have a fine type of the Norfolk labourers.

CHAPTER XII
THE GREAT STRIKE

ON April 25th I got the committee together again. This
time they met in the Cozens* Temperance Hotel, King's
Lynn. There attended the following : Mr. George
Nicholls, M.P., President; Mr. Richard Winfrey, M.P.,
Treasurer ; Messrs H. Day, J. Stibbons, T. Thacker,
W. Codling, A. P. Petch, G. Giles, M. Berry and myself.
The first minute that was passed was that my quarterly
report be received and that my action in giving support
to the Trunch members out on strike be endorsed. The
last part of the resolution was not necessary as the
Emergency Committee I had called together on April i8th
had decided that I should support the men, but it was
an attempt on the part of some who were not at the meeting
on the i8th to ignore the Emergency Committee, as they
were opposed to my calling the meeting ; but I stuck to
my guns and said I would do it again if such an occasion
arose. The malcontents, however, were determined I should
not, so they passed the following resolution on the motion
of Mr. Winfrey :—

That an Emergency Committee be formed consisting of the
officers of the Union and three other members of the Union living
nearest to the District where any dispute takes place, and that
they have power to deal with any dispute that may arise and
report the same to the next Executive Committee.

I warned them of the folly of such a resolution and
told them that we were within measurable distance of

136

THE GREAT STRIKE 137

another dispute of much greater magnitude than the
one we had got on at the moment. I asked them if
they thought it was right for one or two men to commit
the Union to a strike ? No one knew where it might end.
The reply I received was that they were not going to
the expense of calling the committee together more than
once a quarter. Mr. Day, who was in close touch with
the enormous amount of work that was being heaped
upon me and my assistant and knew that we were utterly
unable to cope with it, moved a resolution that another
organizer be appointed in order that I might devote more
time to office work. This was turned down, although
the Union was going up by leaps and bounds, which
all added to the work of the Union, and we were left
to struggle on as best we could. Can it be wondered at
that the matters at the office got into a state of chaos ?
For it was humanly impossible for any one person to
grapple with the work, especially in a room four feet
by six feet and I never at home.

Events soon proved how true my forecast was, for
on May loth I received a letter from Mr. George Hewitt,
branch secretary St. Faith's Branch, informing me that
there was a great deal of unrest in the St. Faith's district
in reference to the hours of labour and rate of wages
and urging me to go over and hold a meeting and discuss
the matter with them. I at once summoned a special
meeting of the branch for May I4th. I also summoned
Mr. H. A. Day, Mr. Robert Green and Mr. Thomas Thacker,
members of the Executive, to an Emergency Committee
according to the minute passed at the last Executive
Committee.

All of them attended. The branch room was packed,
every member being present. Mr. G. E. Hewitt presided.
I asked the members to state definitely what alteration
they required and what demands they wanted to have
made on the employers. Their reply was that they wanted
is. increase on their present wage, which would bring

138 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

their wages up to 143. per week, and wished to have
their hours of labour so arranged that their working
week should finish at one o'clock on Saturdays. I could
not say this was an unreasonable demand, in fact I had
made the one o'clock stop on Saturdays one of the chief
planks on my platform ever since the days of Arch, and
so far as the rise of wages was concerned I felt it was
long overdue. The labourer had not had an increase in
wages for years, yet the cost of living had been steadily
going up meanwhile. But the temper of the men was of
such a nature that I felt the utmost caution must be
exercised by us who were responsible for the conduct
of the men and in whose hands the interest of the Union
was placed, for I felt that one false step would wreck
the whole movement. The spirit of the men was so
aroused that they demanded prompt action, which meant
notices being handed in at once. This I knew would never
do good, and I then proceeded to address the members
in a speech in which I felt the grave responsibility resting
upon me and which was delivered with some emotion.
I counselled the men to move slowly and not to rush
into any action without well considering the importance
of such a step. And further, I told them that so far as
I was concerned I could not consent to a strike until
every other means of a peaceful nature had been tried
and failed. I told them that if they consented to this
course being taken, then, if we failed and the worst had
to come, I would fight for them to the bitter end and
would be a staunch advocate of their claims which I
knew to be just. This rather damped them, and I do
not think according to the temper the men were in
that they would have allowed any other man to have
said such things or have taken such an action. But I
had the satisfaction of knowing that they thoroughly
trusted me and would take any advice I thought it wise
to give them, and I was able to persuade them to pass
the following resolution : —

THE GREAT STRIKE 139

That the committee be asked to allow the General Secretary
to write to every employer in the parish and district covered by
the branch asking if they would consent to a rise of is. per week
and to so arrange their hours of work as to enable their working
week to finish at one o'clock on Saturday, and to make arrange-
ments for this to commence on Saturday May 2 8th.

On this resolution being passed the committee with-
drew to consider it. We discussed it most seriously, and
I expressed an opinion to the committee that I con-
sidered the matter of such a serious nature that I thought
the whole committee ought to be called together and
decide the matter as a whole. Mr. Day did not think
so, and reminded me of the resolution that was passed
by the committee on April 25th on the motion of Mr.
Winfrey, M.P., which absolutely prohibited me calling
the committee together for such a purpose. My other
two colleagues agreed, and they passed the following
resolution : —

That the request of St. Faith's Branch be granted and the
General Secretary be instructed to write to every employer in
the district as requested by the resolution passed by the branch.

They also decided that another special meeting of the
branch and the Emergency Committee should be called
for May 20th to receive the reply of the employers.

On returning to the room I informed the meeting of
the decision of the committee. This was received with
the greatest enthusiasm, but I left with a heavy heart as
I could not see the end of it. I could see the beginning,
but it is one thing to commence a strike and another
thing to end it. I was, however, determined that I
would do everything that was humanly possible to prevent
a strike of this magnitude. I was also determined that
so far as I was concerned the other officials and the
Executive should take their share of the responsibility
of what might happen, and that I would so frame the

140 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

men's request to the employers that it would open every
avenue for a peaceful settlement and, if trouble did arise,
that the whole fault should rest with the employers. I
can't explain it, but I always had, from the moment I
took a leading part in the Trade Union movement, the
greatest horror of a strike, and would go almost any length
to prevent it, so much so that many of my friends used
to say that I went too far in my peace-loving methods.
But I don't think I did, and in looking back over my
long public life I don't regret any action I took in this
direction. I have made many mistakes, but that is
not one of them. When, however, I had to fight, I gave
no quarter to anyone and fought with the greatest
determination.

I had no time on the Saturday or Sunday to do
any correspondence. On Saturday I had my County
Council work to attend to, and on my return home I
had my week's accounts to make up with my assistant,
and on the Sunday I attended to my religious work, for
I never neglected that for anything. But on the i6th
inst. I wrote the following letter to the employers on
behalf of the men : —

DEAR SIR,

I am directed by the men in your employ who are members
of the Labourers' Union to ask if you will consent to raise your
men is. per week. Further, if you would be willing to so arrange
the hours of work as to make it possible for their working week
to finish at one o'clock on Saturday. They would also be glad
if this arrangement could be made in time to commence on
Saturday May 28th. I would be glad to receive a reply from you
at the earliest possible moment.

Trusting that you will be willing to accede to the men's request,
and, further, we would be glad to meet a number of the employers
and discuss this matter and come to some reasonable arrangement,
and thus prevent any dispute arising between you and your men
with all the suffering and inconvenience that must inevitably follow.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS,

General Secretary.

THE GREAT STRIKE 141

I also wrote to the President of the Union, Mr.
George Nicholls, M.P., also to Mr. Winfrey, M.P., the
Treasurer, telling them I was sure some very serious
trouble was taking place and that, although Mr. Day
did not think so, I was strongly of opinion that the whole
Executive ought to meet and deal with the matter at
once. Unfortunately, Mr. Nicholls was not at home and
the letter did not reach him in time to reply before
May 20th. Mr. Winfrey after a day or two did reply
and said he thought we on the spot could deal with the
matter, and there was no doubt we should have to sup-
port the men. I received no reply from the employers.

On May 20th the special meeting of the branch was
held at the King's Head, St. Faith's. The large club
room was packed to overflowing. Unfortunately, only
Mr. Day and myself turned up. My other two colleagues
did not attend. Mr. George E. Hewitt again presided,
and I reported that I had received no reply from the
employers. The men at once became indignant at what
they termed a great insult to them. I saw at once that
all hopes for peace were over. I could not but confess
that the employers had treated the men with scant
courtesy. A very angry discussion arose and in the end
the following resolution was passed : —

That we ask the committee for permission to give the employers
a week's notice, and that, unless our demands are granted, we
shall cease work on Friday.

Mr. Day and myself retired, and I again told him that
I felt very strongly that the whole committee ought to
be called together, as I felt this was too big a responsi-
bility for us. He again objected and said I must not
call the committee together, especially after the Treasurer
had written and said the committee did not want to
meet. I therefore decided to face the situation bravely,
and we went back into the meeting and informed them
we had decided to give them permission to hand their

142 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

notices in. I then addressed the men and urged upon
them to enter into this contest thoughtfully and seriously.
Their claims were just and reasonable, and I was sure if
they acted soberly and orderly they would have the
public with them.

The question then arose as to what form the notice
should take. I advised them to draw up what is known
as a round robin and each man sign it. This was done
and a notice was drawn up for each employer. It read
thus : —

We the undersigned workmen of yours hereby give you notice
that unless we receive is. per week rise of wage upon our present
ordinary rate of wage on next pay day, also an agreement come
to whereby our hours of labour be so arranged that our working
week finish at one o'clock on Saturday, this notice will terminate
on Friday May 28th.

Each man signed it and a notice was handed in to
each employer on the Saturday morning May 2ist. The
employers received the notice as far as I could learn
without comment and very little was said during the
week. I at once took steps to grapple with the situation.
I got a strike committee formed and got proper pay-sheets
printed, which every man would be asked to sign at nine
o'clock every morning at the club house. At the same
time I intended to explore every avenue during the next
few days before the final crash came to secure peace. On
Monday morning May 23rd I received the following
letter from Mr. J. T. Willis, Secretary of the Farmers'
Federation.

SHERINGHAM,

May 22, 1910.
DEAR SIR,

On behalf of the farmers of the neighbourhood of St.
Faith's, to whom you wrote on the i6th inst., I am directed to
reply that they very much regret they are unable to accede to
either of the men's applications contained in your letter to them.
They quite appreciate the suffering and inconvenience and bad

THE GREAT STRIKE 143

feeling which is the inevitable result of a strike and would do
everything to avoid one. It is not a question of paying the farm
labourers as little as 133. or 143. per week, for it is well known
that the average earnings inclusive of piecework pay amount to
a considerably higher figure. During the past winter farm hands
in the St. Faith's district received wages on the scale that had
been paid during the summer instead of being dropped during
the days of short hours as is usual. The farmers in that district
recognized that circumstances then justified their paying what in
fact amounted to an increase of is. per week wage. If instead
of adopting this plan they had followed the usual course of dropping
the wages during the period of short hours in the winter and had
now raised their men to 135. per week, probably there would now
have been no discontent and they would have saved money. The
result of the farmers paying higher wages during the winter than
was from their point of view necessary, as labour was not scarce,
is that they are now confronted with a demand for further increase
for which the price of farm produce affords no justification. As
you are probably aware, the market value of wheat is about one-
third less than it was a year ago, and this reduction is not counter-
balanced by better prices for other farm produce. The employers
regret to hear that many of their workmen who have been in their
service the greater part of their lifetime are intending to sever
such old associations, perhaps against their personal inclination.

However, in case the threatened strike should be carried out,
steps are being taken to fill the vacancies which will be so caused.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed] J. T. WILLIS,

Secretary.

GEORGE EDWARDS, Esg., C.C.,
Gresham.

To this I wrote the following reply, to which the Secretary
of the Farmers' Federation never replied : —

GRESHAM,

May 25, 1910.
DEAR SIR,

Yours of the 23rd to hand re the labourers' dispute at
St. Faith's, and I very much regret to see by it the employers are
not prepared to meet the men on either of their requests. I had
hoped, considering the serious consequences involved both to the
employers and employed, the employers would have been willing
to meet the men and endeavour to come to some agreement with-
out a strike having to be resorted to. I wish also to say my

144 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Executive entirely disagree with your Executive that the present
state of agriculture does not guarantee any advance in wages on
the present wage.

We are of opinion, considering the much higher price thay have
to pay for their food and that the purchasing value of their wages
is greatly depreciated, that they are entitled to some little advance
further. We consider that, had the employers reduced wages last
autumn, they would have treated the men most unjustly, and,
further, my Executive thinks the threat thrown out in the last
paragraph of your letter, namely to fill up the men's places, does
not manifest a very conciliatory spirit. If the employers had
first shown a willingness to meet the men in some way, it would
have been much better. We hope, however, the employers and
your Executive will yet consider their decision and meet us with
a view to preventing a strike with all its bitter consequences.
Yours faithfully,

(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS.

J. T. WILLIS, ESQ.,
Secretary, Farmers' Federation,
Sheringham.

The receipt of Mr. Willis's letter, if I had any hopes
that a strike could be avoided, would have dashed all
hopes to the ground. Still I was anxious to catch at
the last straw and to prevent a strike if possible. Also,
when the history came to be written, it should never be
said that I was the cause of it and that I did nothing
to prevent it, for I did everything that any man could
do to bring about peace. And in this story of my con-
nection with the Trade Union movement I very much
regret to say that, until the late Great War, the farmers
never would meet the men nor their representatives,
but persisted in dealing with the men in a most high-
handed autocratic manner. Had they shown any kind
of a conciliatory spirit nine strikes out of ten that have
taken place during these last fifty years would have
been avoided.

On Friday May 28th the notices handed in by the
men expired, and, as no attempt on the part of employers
had been made to arrive at a settlement, the men brought

THE GREAT STRIKE 145

their tools away. I cycled over from the other side of
Norfolk where I had been holding meetings during the
week. Also my assistant, Mr. Thomas Thacker, was
present. On arriving at the village we found the greatest
excitement prevailing. We were met by the men and
their wives, also a number of Trade Union friends from
Norwich. Amongst them was Mr. W. R. Smith, Mr. W.
Holmes and Mrs. Reeve. Mr. Day was also present.
A meeting was held under the tree that stood on an open
space close by the King's Head Inn. Almost the entire
village was present. Stirring addresses were delivered
by the Norwich friends. Representatives of the press
were present, and in order that the public might know
that I had made every effort to prevent trouble, I read a
copy of the letter I had sent to the employers at first, also
the letter I had received from Mr. Willis, the Secretary
of the Farmers' Federation, and my reply to it. It was
generally admitted that I had gone the full length any
leader of a Trade Union could go in the direction of
peace. In fact some thought I had gone a little too far,
but I felt, and I do now, that it is better to err on the
side of peace than it is on the other side. But the fight
had begun and I felt the whole brunt of it would fall
on me. I therefore set my teeth and made up my mind
that, as my efforts for peace had failed, I would fight
like grim death and, if we were to suffer defeat, the
fault should not be mine. Altogether I had 105 men on
my hands, 75 at St. Faith's and 30 in the Trunch
district. The Norwich friends offered to render as much
help as possible and undertook to have collections made
at all the factory gates on Saturdays to raise a fund to
pay the men who were married and with families more
than strike pay. I also decided to make collections
throughout the Union. I also decided to hold big Sunday
demonstrations throughout Norfolk and to make collec-
tions. The meeting concluded about ten o'clock, and
I went home with my friend Mr. George Hewitt to stay

10

146 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

for the night, but not to sleep, for there was no rest for
me. The responsibility was too great for me to rest,
and I wished I could have had an Executive that would
take some share of it. But I had a good lot of local
workers. My friend George Hewitt, the branch secretary,
undertook to act as strike secretary and to see the men
sign the day-sheets. The next morning the village was
full of excitement. At nine o'clock a number of mounted
police arrived in the village and an equal number of foot
police, for what purpose no one ever knew. I, however,
saw the danger. Before leaving for Norwich I summoned
the men with their wives to the branch house and warned
them to be on their guard and give every instruction
to the pickets to keep strictly within the law of peaceful
picketing, and not on any account to attempt to molest
the non-unionists when they were at their work, only
to use peaceful persuasion on the road and in every
respect to carry the fight on in an orderly manner and
not in any way to run contrary to the authorities, for I
was satisfied they would receive the greatest provocation.
This they assured me they would do, and I am pleased
to say, in spite of what was said to the contrary, that
the men through the eight months' struggle acted in the
most orderly way and only in the most technical manner
did they overstep the bounds of the law.

On Friday June 4th I received the men's first lock-out
pay from the Treasurer. On Sunday June 6th I arranged
for a big demonstration at Weasenham, which was addressed
by Messrs R. Winfrey, H. A. Day, R. Green, James Coe
and myself. A collection was taken at both meetings
for the lock-out fund amounting to over £7. The meetings
were attended by over 1,500 people. An Executive
Emergency Committee meeting was held after the after-
noon meeting. Mr. H. A. Day presided, and there were
present Mr. Winfrey, Mr. Robert Green and myself
as General Secretary. It was resolved that the men
out on strike at St. Faith's be supported according to

THE GREAT STRIKE 147

the minute passed at the Executive Meeting held on^April
25th, which read as follows : —

Any member having paid three months' contributions and his
entrance fee be paid full lock-out pay, but the General Secretary
shall deduct from his first week's lock-out pay three months'
contributions to bring them into compliance with Rule 6. But
members having paid less than three months' contributions shall
receive grants on the following scale : Married men, 73. 6d. per
week ; single men, 53. per week.

Mr. Winfrey also offered at this meeting to find work
on the co-partnership farm at Walpole for sixteen men, the
General Secretary to pay their rail fare. On Monday
June 27th I took sixteen men over to Walpole. Arrange-
ments were made for the men to have all their food in
the Jepson Hall and that building to be used as a living
room for the men. I purchased earthenware and cooking
utensils for their use. One of the men was elected to
act as cook and to keep the place clean. A good building
at the farm was cleaned out and made fit for the men
to sleep in and good clean straw was put into clean
bags for beds. Each man took some bedclothes for
himself, and thus I got them settled and saw them at
work next morning before leaving.

The Norwich friends did splendidly. Our men stood
at the factory gates on Saturday. The boxes were never
opened without us finding from £12 to £20, and with the
collections at our Sunday meetings I was able to pay
married men 2s. per week above their lock-out pay and
is. per head for each child, both in the St. Faith's and
Trunch districts. I always paid the men at St. Faith's
on Friday and the men at Trunch on Saturday. Never
once was I an hour late. The men at St. Faith's always
cycled on the road to meet me and act as my bodyguard,
for the farmers' tools had again become threatening.
Although we had nearly cleared the farms, there were
then, as there always have been, some to do the bidding
of the opponents of Labour ; but the men in both districts

148 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

took very good care no one should harm me. These
two disputes created great interest in the Union. My
assistant Mr. Thomas Thacker and myself held meetings
during the week, opening branches almost everywhere,
and the Union went up by leaps and bounds. The
labourers joined every week in hundreds, and, had the
Executive let me have another organizer or two and
more clerical assistance at home, the strikes would
not have affected the funds of the Union to any great
extent. The dispute, however, though serious and
causing me many anxious moments, was not devoid
of its humorous side. I always stayed with my friend
Mr. Hewitt on Friday nights, and after the men were
paid I always held a meeting under the tree which is
now an historic one. The whole village would turn out
to these meetings ; the women were most enthusiastic.
They were always on the look out for the blacklegs, as
they would call them, and if one did venture to come
anywhere near the village he would have to undergo
some good-natured chaff. The employers were careful not
to let these come too near the danger zone.

The Federation had provided very comfortable huts
for them to live in on the farms and, when they had to
pass through the village, they conveyed them in carts
guarded by policemen. There was no necessity for that,
and it was a wicked waste of time and money for which
the county had to pay. The men and their wives
had received instructions from me that they were not on
any account to molest the strike-breakers, however great
the provocation, and they loyally carried it out, for no
leader of Labour in time of disputes ever had more loyal
followers than I had in the St. Faith's and Trunch districts,
But I could not always be with them, as I had to stump
the county holding meetings in the interest of the Union,
and the young folks and the women would have a little
harmless horse-play. But the employers grew more bitter
every day and apparently were determined to compel

THE GREAT STRIKE 149

these poor people to break the law. Writing twelve
years after this dispute I can write more calmly and yet
more deliberately, and I assert without fear of contra-
diction that there was a deliberate attempt on the part
of someone to compel these poor people in some way
to lay themselves open to be prosecuted, and that the
authorities were anxious to embrace the first opportunity
to punish severely these poor people for daring to demand
the right to live by their labour and to see their wives
and children properly fed and clothed.

One day the occasion arose, although no one could
ever say that there was any attempt to molest the strike-
breakers or in any way to use violence towards them.
When these men were being conveyed from one farm to
another guarded by the police about twelve of the men's
wives gathered together with kettles and saucepans and
sang one of the Union's songs on the approach of the
blacklegs, and, although they never approached nearer
than one hundred yards to the strike-breakers, they
certainly followed them through the village, beating
their tin kettles and singing their Union ditties. They
were summoned by the police and appeared before the
magistrates at the Shirehouse, Norwich. They were
ably defended by our solicitor, Mr. Keefe. Although he
proved that there was no breach of the law of intimida-
tion, the magistrates bound these women over to keep
the peace for six months. But soon another occasion
arose for these people to be cruelly persecuted. One
of the men, after urging upon his fellow workers to strike,
had gone back again to work. One afternoon he went
to work on his allotment. About twelve of the men
went to the allotment gate with tin kettles and a
concertina and waited until he came out to the road to
go home, and without saying a word to him walked about
one hundred yards behind him, playing their concertina
and singing one of Sankey's hymns, " Kind words can
never die." The wife, hearing the singing, came out into

150 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the road and began to shriek out and make a dreadful
noise and shout out, "Oh, they will kill my husband!"
although no one was within a hundred yards of him, nor
did they intend to be. But this was enough. The men
were summoned by the police to appear before the
magistrates at the Storehouse, Norwich, on August 2oth.
Mr. Keefe was instructed to defend the men. I was
unable to attend the court as I had to attend to two
other emergency committees in connection with the
harvest disputes. But Mr. Herbert Day, the Vice-
President, was present in the court on behalf of the Union,
and, although the police were unable to bring one solitary
witness forward to swear that they saw anyone touch
the old man or even go near him, the magistrates decided
to convict and fined the men £5 each with costs.

The total amount was £60 i6s. or three months in
prison. Mr. Herbert A Day at once wrote out a cheque
for the amount and prevented the men from going to
prison. This money he paid out of his own pocket and
never took a penny from the Union, and, further, for
months in addition to what the Union, paid the men
with families he gave the married men with families is.
per child. The report of the conviction, when it appeared
in the daily papers on August 22nd, caused widespread
consternation and indignation at such a sentence being
passed on poor helpless men. Never before since the
scandalous sentence of seven years' transportation passed
on the Dorchester labourers on March 15, 1834, by Judge
Baron John William, the prosecution that was ordered
by Viscount Melbourne, the Whig Home Secretary who
was out to crush the rising spirit of Trade Unionism, had
there been such outspoken criticism of any magistrates'
sentences, nor had there been such a spirit of indignation.
On every Labour platform throughout the country the
sentence was denounced as being most unjust and
cruel, and, instead of it in any way damping the spirit
of the labourers, it created a widespread interest, and

THE GREAT STRIKE 151

through the efforts of my assistant I was able to report
up to September 30th that we had enrolled into
the Union in Norfolk over 1,800 members. Many ex-
pressions of gratitude were given to Mr. Day for his
great spirit of humanity and kindness. But many of
the leading Trade Unionists thought it would have been
best to have let the men go to prison and to have taken
steps at once to get the conviction quashed, which they
said we should have had no trouble in doing, as it would
have been the means of bringing even a more widespread
sympathy to the men and to our cause.

During the summer months a great deal of controversy
took place in the press, and I as a rule came in for a great
deal of personal abuse and was accused of making the
gulf wider and wider between employer and employed
for no other motive than my own personal interest. Well,
those that made that charge and heaped that abuse
upon me would not have said so if they had had to work
night and day as I had for 235. per week and to bear
the responsibility of a dispute with a hundred men in-
volved and an organization so rapidly growing in strength
and influence. But on July 3rd and 4th I embraced
the opportunity of again making known to the public
that I was anxious to do anything that any human being
could do without giving away absolutely the men's case,
which I knew was just and reasonable. There appeared
in the Daily Press the first week in July a letter from Mr.
J. H. Bugden suggesting that a conference should be
held between the two sides with an independent chair-
man with a view of arriving at a settlement that would
be honourable to both sides concerned. On going over
to St. Faith's on the Friday to pay the men I addressed
a meeting and said that I had seen in the press during
the week a good deal of correspondence concerning the
dispute in the St. Faith's and Tnmch districts, and I was
very pleased to see a letter from the pen of my friend
Mr. J. H. Bugden suggesting a conference between the

152 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

two sides concerned, with a view of bringing this unhappy
dispute to an end, and I wished to let it be known
publicly that we were quite as willing and always had
been to enter into negotiations with the employers or
the Executive of their Federation with a view of bringing
this dispute to an end, but up to the present they had
declined all such offers that I had made and now we
would go a step further. If such a conference could
be held, we would accept Mr. Bugden as chairman. On
July 6th I wrote from Castleacre to the Secretary of the
Farmers' Federation the following letter : —

CASTLEACRB,

July 5, 1910.
J. T. WILLIS, ESQ.,

Secretary, Farmers' Federation,

Sheringham.
DEAR SIR,

As I stated in my speech on Friday last at St. Faith's,
in replying to the correspondence in the Daily Press, we are quite
willing to enter into negotiations with the Executive of your Federa-
tion re the dispute in the St. Faith's and Trunch districts, and
would quite willingly accept Mr. J. H. Bugden as chairman of
a conference, and, in case the parties not agreeing or not being
able to come to terms, we would be willing to submit the whole
case to an arbitrator, to be named and appointed by the joint
members of the organizations assembled. Or, if the employers
in each affected district prefer it, we would be willing to have an
equal number of the employers and an equal number of the em-
ployees with the Secretaries of the Federation and the Labourers'
Union to be members of the conference to represent the two
organizations. Each labourer to meet without prejudice. Of
course, if your Executive and the employers fall in with this
suggestion other preliminaries can easily be arranged.
An early reply would greatly oblige,

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS.

P.S. — If you reply to-morrow, Wednesday, please direct your
letter to the address below,

Visiting Committee Board Room, County Asylum,
Thorpe, Norwich.

THE GREAT STRIKE 153

I ought to say I was absolutely unable to get my
Executive together to discuss the dispute further before
the regular quarterly meeting, which was not until July 30th.
I wrote this letter entirely on my own responsibility,
irrespective of what they might say in reference to my
action, but I felt the responsibility too great to let an
opportunity pass that might bring peace.

On July Qth I received the following reply from the
Secretary of the Farmers' Federation : —

SHERINGHAM,

July 9, 1910.
DEAR SIR,

I placed your letter of the 5th inst. before the Executive
Council of the Farmers' Federation at their meeting to-day, and
they regret they are unable to see that any good would result
from a conference with representatives of the Labourers' Union.
The Farmers' Federation has no dispute with the Labourers'
Union, the present trouble being one between five or six employers
and their labourers. All that the Farmers' Federation is doing
is to assist its members in resisting the demands made upon them
by the labourers who were in their employ.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) J. T. WILLIS.
GEORGE EDWARDS, ESQ.,

Secretary,

Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers'
and Small Holders' Union.

To that letter I sent the following reply : —

GRESHAM,
July n, 1910.
J. T. WILLIS, ESQ.,

Secretary, Farmers' Federation,

Sheringham.
DEAR SIR,

Yours of the gth inst. to hand, and I very much regret
that the Executive Council of the Farmers' Federation could not
see their way to accept the offer of this Union to meet in con-
ference with a view of bringing about a settlement of the St.
Faith's and Trunch districts disputes. It must be obvious to

154 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

them, as they are supporting their members in the dispute, that
they are an interested party in the dispute in just the same way
as the Labourers' Union is by giving support to its members. It
would have been a wise and humane policy for the two organiza-
tions to meet and endeavour to bring about a settlement. We
having made the offer and not for the first time, and the Federation
have refused it, now the onus must rest on the Farmers' Federa-
tion, whatever may be the evils arising out of their refusal. There
would have been no lowering of the prestige of either of the societies
had they met in conference. But your Executive seems to ignore
entirely the last paragraph in my letter where I offered on behalf
of the men for an equal number of the men to meet an equal
number of the employers and only the secretaries of the two
organizations to attend the conference of the employers and their
men. By your making no mention of this part of my letter I
take it that that offer is rejected too. Such being the case, there
the question must rest so far as we are concerned, and we must
leave the public to judge which side has acted in the most con-
ciliatory spirit.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS.

This ended all efforts for a settlement so far as I was
concerned. All future efforts would have to be left to
others. If the men had to go down then I would go down
with them, but I would go down fighting. I ought to
say also that Sir Ailwyn Fellowes, now Lord Ailwyn,
expressed a willingness to intervene if both parties agreed.
I at once on behalf of the men agreed, but the Farmers'
Federation refused. And so the dispute continued and,
as the weeks went by, the relationship became more
strained. I think I can say never was there a Labour
dispute when so many efforts at securing a settlement
were made by the men's leaders as I made on this occasion,
and never a leader's efforts thwarted by the employers'
organizations as mine were by the Farmers' Federation.
It seemed that they could not bring themselves to see
that the days of autocratic methods of dealing with their
men were fast passing away and that the days of collective
bargaining were rapidly approaching. They constantly
kept the old parrot cry, " I always did do as I liked with

THE GREAT STRIKE 155

my men, why can't I now ? " Happily there is a better
spirit existing now. Both sides do meet together now
and discuss these problems, but it is a sad reflection that
it took a great war to bring about this long-desired
change.

CHAPTER XIII
DEFEAT

THE committee at their quarterly meeting held at
Cozens' Temperance Hotel, at King's Lynn, on Saturday,
July 30th, decided, on the motion of Mr. Winfrey, to move
the office of the Union from Gresham to Fakenham, if
a suitable house could be found, and they appointed Mr.
Robert Green and myself a sub-committee to secure
one if possible. This we did after a good deal of corre-
spondence. We first agreed on one on a seven years' lease
in Walsall Terrace, Queen's Road, Fakenham, at a rental
of £17 per annum and rates ; but before the agreement
could be signed and the lease drawn up, it transpired that
the house was let to another man without the knowledge
of the house agent. Then a Mr. Philips of Fakenham
offered us Wensum House at Hempton, near Fakenham,
at a rental of £20 per annum. This we accepted and took
on a seven years' lease. This was a ten-roomed house
with two large attics. The two front rooms were very
large. One of the front rooms was taken as an office,
and it was a very fine and suitable room at that time,
and quite large enough to be used as a board room for the
committee. The committee also decided that I should
pay them the same rent as I paid my landlord for my
cottage and garden at Gresham, namely £5 per year.
The moving from my village caused me a good deal of
pain, but I knew I must bow to the inevitable, for the
Union had outgrown my little bedroom. I did, however,
love my garden and my little cottage, small as it was.

156

DEFEAT 157

I cultivated my garden as a relief early in the morning
when at home to occupy my mind from the worries of
my official duties. I always managed so that I had
some kind of vegetable all the year round. I was very
fond of vegetable marrow and used to grow a very fine
kind. We ate some as vegetables, the rest we could cut
and keep and my wife would make what we called in
our agricultural labourer's phrase, " million pies." My
wife, too, was very fond of fowls, and we kept just enough
to produce a few eggs for our own use. To my little
cottage my dear wife and myself were devoted. In
fact, I was as proud of it as any duke is of his palace.
We had two downstair rooms, the front room 12 ft. by
14 ft., its height about 6 ft. 8 in., the back kitchen which
we used to live in most of our time 9 ft. by 7 ft. There
was a little cooking-stove in it and a perpetual oven in
the wall in which my wife did most of her baking. The
front room floor she covered with cocoanut matting
and put a nice paper on the walls, and there were plenty
of pictures and my bookshelf at one corner full of books,
of which I am so proud. As we both looked at this
little cottage home, which had so many sweet memories,
one can understand how unwilling we were to leave it.
Further, I was living there amongst my own fellow
agricultural labourers, and the environments and sur-
roundings were so dear to me as to be part of myself.

I was also Superintendent of the Primitive Methodist
Sunday-school, Society Steward and Circuit Steward of
the Sheringham and Holt Primitive Methodist Circuit.
To take me from it all was a wrench indeed, and I don't
believe my dear wife ever did settle down to the change.

In moving into a town and a bigger house I knew I
should be lifted out of my natural environment, which
was no small matter now that I had reached sixty years
of age. Besides, I was moving many miles from the spot
which was so sacred to me, namely the village churchyard
of Aylmerton, where I had buried my aged mother some

158 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

eleven years before. But the movement that I had
so successfully launched and for whose success or failure
I was responsible I felt had a greater claim than any
other earthly consideration, so I braced myself up to
the inevitable. Those memories of the past are still,
however, sweet to me, and, if I had my choice, I think I
would prefer to go back to them again. On October n,
1910, I moved from Gresham to Wensum House, Hempton,
near Fakenham, with all unforeseen events to face which
I think I have done bravely.

But during all my moving troubles 1 had still the strike
troubles to bear and the propaganda work of the Union,
and no extra help allowed. My assistant Mr. Thomas
Thacker had resigned in August through ill health, and
his successor, Mr. James Coe, could not take up his duties
until after harvest. No sooner had I settled down in
my new office, nicely fitted up, than I saw I had great
troubles to face which would cause me greater worries
than ever I had been called upon to bear, for the strike
continued as fiercely as ever, and I could see a crisis coming
which I knew would be either the making or the undoing
of the Union. At the conclusion of the harvest in the
third week in September I met all the men on strike in
both districts who had lost their harvest through the
strike and paid them the whole harvest wages which
they would have received had they been at work. So
no one man suffered the loss of one penny through the
strike. Such a thing no Union had ever done before.

During the quarter from July to October we had some
few little disputes over the harvest wages, at Swanton,
Morley and Litcham, in which Mr. Arnett, a member of
the Executive, and myself were able to effect a satisfactory
settlement. On November 19, 1910, a most important
meeting of the Executive was held at Cozens' Temperance
Hotel. There were present Mr. George Nicholls, Mr.
Richard Winfrey, Messrs. George Edwards, J. Arnett,

DEFEAT 159

T. Giles, A. Gidney, W. Codling, A. Fetch and J. Stibbons.
I presented my financial statement and quarterly report,
which read as follows : —

In presenting you with my fifteenth quarterly report I am sorry
to report for the first time a considerable decrease in our accu-
mulated capital due to the prolonged dispute in the St. Faith's
and Trunch districts. We have enrolled during the quarter 1,048
members. Our contributions have been £348 iys. 8d., which is
£82 135. more than the previous quarter and is the highest on
record. We have held during the quarter fourteen camp meet-
ings, which were all well attended. The collections taken have
been devoted to paying the expenses of the meeting, and the
balances have been given to a special lock-out fund for men with
large families.

The dispute at St. Faith's and Trunch still continues at a very
heavy cost. We paid to the men from June 3othto September 3oth
at St. Faith's ^683 143. gd., Trunch £g 53., Swanton Morley £9,
Litcham ^3 os. 5d., Castleacre ios., Pulham 53. Total amount
of strike pay during the quarter ^705 153. ad., a sum for such a
purpose we must all deeply regret. We can, however, congratu-
late ourselves on the fact that we have done more for our members
in the time we have been in existence than any other labour
union has ever done in so short a time. I feel, however, that
we must now consider the next step to take. The St. Faith's
strike has entered upon its twenty-sixth week. I have done all
I can to bring the dispute to a peaceful and honourable conclu-
sion, but have failed. The St. Faith's strike is costing ^35 per
week. I have appealed to the Board of Trade and clearly pointed
out the miserably low wages paid to the agricultural labourers
in Norfolk, and asked the President of the Board to intervene.
He has, however, refused to do so. The next step I should advise
the committee to take is to ask the members to express their
views by ballot and at the same time point out to them the
seriousness of the situation. Great care, however, must be
taken in the matter, or we shall lose a great deal of the ground
we have gained. The special effect the strike has had on the
Union in Norfolk is that it has prevented the farmers reducing
the labourers' wages from 135. to 123. per week during the autumn.
We have appeared to the farmers to be a great deal stronger than
we really are. And I do not consider the money we have spent
in the dispute has been spent in vain and, further, it has created
a lively interest in the Union. I wish to pomt out that the trouble
at Litcham and Swanton Morley would have taken a very serious
turn had it not have been for the firm stand your Emergency

160 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Committee took. The dispute at Trunch still continues, but
several of the men have found work with other employers. There is
some little trouble arisen in one of our branches over a very difficult
matter. The branch asks the Executive to support the case.
Another little trouble has arisen at Felthorpe, which after very close
investigation I am supporting, and I ask for your endorsement.
In closing my report I wish to say we have received enormous sup-
port from our Norwich friends, both morally and financially, and
great thanks are due to them from the committee. I feel I ought
not to close this report without mentioning the fact that Mr.
Herbert Day, our Vice-President, has been untiring in helping
the men out on strike. He nobly came forward when they were
shamefully persecuted and fined a sum amounting to £68 i6s.
and paid this himself. I hope the criticism and the discussion
on this report and the position of the Union will enable us to
come out of this crisis successfully. I also wish to report that I
attended the Trade Union Congress held at Sheffield in September
and moved the following resolution as instructed by the General
Council : —

" That it be an instruction to the Parliamentary Committee
to take steps to get the agricultural labourers included in the
Trades Board Act of 1909."

The committee endorsed my report. Mr. Arnett also
reported that he had received some communications
from Mr. Leadbeater, a schoolmaster at St. Faith's, offering
to negotiate with the farmers with a view to bringing
the dispute to an end if the Executive wished.

It was resolved that Mr. Arnett be empowered to ask
Mr. Leadbeater to negotiate with the employers at St.
Faith's with a view to their taking the men back at 135.
per week, the wage which the men struck against.

To this I strongly objected, contending that the committee
had no right to authorize anyone to negotiate with the
employers on such terms until the members of the Union
had given them the power to do so. I at once found I
was up against my Executive. I also could plainly see
that the Union was about to pass through a most severe
crisis, and without great care the movement for which
I had worked so hard for the last four years would be
smashed. The committee also decided that a ballot of

DEFEAT 161

the members should be taken and the resolution should
be sent to all the branches. It was also resolved that as
soon as I received the ballot papers from the branches,
if the majority were in favour of the resolution, I should
at once inform Mr. Arnett of the result, and that I should
instruct Mr. Arnett to ask Mr. Leadbeater to make arrange-
ment with the employers to take the men back on the old
terms, namely 135. per week and the hours of labour as
before. Thus it will be seen all through nothing was
in the circular about the terms. The committee decided
without even meeting to discuss the ballot that the strike
was to be closed and the men sent back on the old terms.
As I look back at this proceeding I am not surprised that
there was serious trouble, but I am surprised that the
whole movement did not collapse. I am sorry to have
to recount this, but I feel in writing my life-story and of
the whole facts of the progress of this movement which
I founded and the vicissitudes through which it had
to pass, the whole facts should be made known. Further,
most of it is a matter of history now.

The resolution and ballot the committee themselves
drew up and instructed the President and myself to sign.
This read as follows : —

To the Secretary of the Branch.

MOST URGENT.
Sir,

Please call a special meeting of your branch not later than
Saturday November 26th to consider the strike at St. Faith's.
The Members of that branch last May asked their employers
for is. per week rise and for their working week to finish
at one o'clock on Saturdays, which was equal to shortening their
hours of labour three hours per week. The employers refused to
grant either of these requests. A strike ensued which has lasted
just on six months and has cost the Union over ^900, which your
committee consider a most serious matter. We had hoped the
dispute would have been brought to a peaceful and honourable
settlement. We consider the time has now come when you
ought to have the seriousness of the situation placed before you,

II

162 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

for you to decide by your vote whether the committee shall not
try to bring the dispute to an honourable conclusion. You must
call a special and urgent meeting and put the following resolu-
tion to the meeting, sending us the result. Please write the
number of votes for and against on your ballot paper signed on
behalf of the committee.

(Signed) GEORGE NICHOLLS, President.
GEORGE EDWARDS, Secretary.

Resolution.

That in the opinion of this Branch the Executive Committee
of this Union should immediately take steps to bring the St.
Faith's strike to an honourable conclusion.

Number of votes.

For

Against

I received the ballot papers back from all of the
branches by November 2gth. On counting them, I at
once sent the result to Mr. Arnett as instructed by
the committee. The result was as follows for closing
the strike as per resolution : —

For 1,558

Against 802

Majority for closing 756

Mr. Arnett on receiving the result at once wrote to Mr.
Leadbeater and received the following letters : —

ST. FAITH'S, NORWICH.

December 3, 1910.
DEAR MR. ARNETT,

I had a long interview with Mr. W. W. Cook last night,
and with slight reservations he is willing to take the men back
again at the old rate of wages. We discussed matters very fully,
and finally I think Mr. Cook is prepared to deal very fairly with
the men. Of course there will be certain sore places for a time,
but he will not be vindictive. The modus operandi of closing

DEFEAT 163

the strike will require great care. The Federation men will have
to be cleared away in a proper way and our own men will have
to be prepared to take their places at the most convenient time.
This will require delicate handling, and I hope any statement
made before the matter is closed will be well guarded. I sincerely
hope you will be able to bring the issue to a satisfactory con-
clusion. I believe this is a chance, and in any way I can help
you I hope you will let me know and I will gladly assist. Kindest
regards,

Sincerely yours,
(Signed) H. LEADBEATER.

ST. FAITH'S,

December 5, 1910.
DEAR ARNETT,

Mr. Cook suggested yesterday that I should write to
Mr. Willis, the Federation Secretary, and give him an account
of Friday's interview. I am doing so by this post. I think this
is a step nearer and may lead to an official recognition and dis-
cussion. Mr. Cook also told me yesterday that he was prepared
to take on the evening school lads at once, if I send them in to
him. What do you say to this ? Let me know as soon as you
can and then some start can be made. Hoping for the best,
believe me to be acting in your best interest,

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) H. LEADBEATER.

ST. FAITH'S,
December 13, 1910.
DEAR ARNETT,

I have received an answer from Mr. Willis, the Federa-
tion Secretary, in which he informs me that the local masters
will treat with their employees in a most friendly spirit and will
at once employ them at the same rate as before. This is from
the Executive Council, and I, knowing the feeling of our best
farmers, beg to suggest that all pressure should be made to settle
the matter at once. I feel sure, if the chance goes by, there will
not be another on such good terms as now. This is the climax,
and under no consideration will the men receive better terms. I
should say if once acted upon there will be practically very few
left outside. I think it is far better to keep the two or three left
on the Union funds than to keep on a hopeless fight. Believe
me, it is a hopeless fight, and I hope for the sake of the Union
and the men the end has come and that your Executive can see

164 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

it. Kindly let me know what your Executive say so that I can
report finally the result of my endeavours to bring about a settle-
ment which will give us peace.

With my good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) H. LEADBEATER.

This was the first stage of the trouble. On receiving
these communications from Mr. Arnett I at once sum-
moned the Executive together, and they met on Decem-
ber lyth. A strange thing happened at the committee
held on November igth. Although the committee decided
to take this course, they suspended me and my assistant
organizer Mr. James Coe for a period during the General
Election, and left only my secretary in the office to attend
to all correspondence and keep the books. Of course
I had to do all correspondence which had all to be sent
on to me.

The Executive Committee met at the office of the
Union on December 17, 1910, and there were present
Mr. H. A. Day (Vice-President), who presided in the
absence of the President, Messrs. A. Petch, W. Codling,
J. Stibbons, M. Berry, J. Arnett, G. Edwards and
T. Thacker.

It soon became evident that the committee would
be hopelessly divided on the St. Faith's dispute. I
reported the result of the ballot and that I had carried
out the instructions given me at the last committee
meeting, name.y I had sent the result of the ballot on to
Mr. Arnett and that I had instructed him to ask Mr.
Leadbeater to make arrangements with the employers
for the men to go back on the old terms of 133. per week
and the working hours to be as before. I had, therefore,
carried out all my instructions in reference to the matter.
Mr. Arnett was asked to state what he had done in the
matter, and he then read the correspondence he had
had with Mr. Leadbeater, and he strongly recommended
that the arrangements made by Mr. Leadbeater with the

DEFEAT 165

employers be carried out and that the men be instructed
to return to work on the employers' terms. Mr. Day
then moved and Mr. Berry seconded that the General
Secretary be instructed to write and thank Mr. Lead-
beater for his kind efforts to bring about a settlement
of the St. Faith's strike, but, as the employers had not
given any guarantee that they would take all the men
back without any further reductions, the present negotia-
tions be brought to an end.

This resolution caused a most heated debate, and there
voted for it Mr. Day, W. Colding and Mr. Berry, against
Messrs. Arnett, Fetch and Stibbons. The chairman gave
his casting vote for the resolution and it was adopted.

The Secretary read a letter from the St. Faith's Branch
containing a resolution passed by that branch : —

That this branch is of opinion that the resolution sent by the
Executive to the branches to vote upon was rather misleading.
We ask the Executive to take another clearer ballot of all the
members. If the strike shall continue for 143. per week or go
back for 133. per week, if the employers will give an undertaking
to take all the men and lads back at one time, and that a clear
financial statement be given with the ballot. Further we are
prepared to loyally abide by the wishes of our fellow members.

Mr. Day then moved and Mr. Berry seconded that
another ballot be taken of all the members and that
they be asked to vote on the following questions : —

1. Shall the men stand out for 143. per week ?

2. Or shall they go back for 135. per week if all the men and

lads are taken back at once ?

Further, that the following circulars be sent with ballot
papers : —

To the Secretary of the Branch.

MOST URGENT I ST. FAITH'S DISPUTE.

Seeing that the words " honourable conclusion " in the first
ballot were not clearly understood, we ask you to call another

166 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

meeting and take a vote of all your members present and let me
have the ballot papers back not later than January i, 1911. I
am also instructed to let you know the true position of the Union.
We report to you that since the strike commenced at St. Faith's
last May we have enrolled nearly 2,000 members. We had in
hand on September soth last over £1,100. Since then we
have spent £500 for strikes and general purposes and received
about £250, so that we now have about £850 in hand. At this
rate of expenditure and income we could continue the strike for
another six months certain, that is until next May. We under-
stand that the farmers have often trouble with the imported
strike-breakers. The men at St. Faith's are prepared loyally to
follow the wishes of their fellow Trade Unionists and either con-
tinue to stand out for the 145. or go back for the 135., if all can
be taken back together. If the vote is in favour of the men
going back for the 135., then the General Secretary be instructed
to act on the other resolution.

Signed on behalf of the committee,

GEO. EDWARDS,

General Secretary.

This was carried by the casting vote of the chairman.
At the conclusion of the meeting I at once had this circular
printed. It was finished that evening and I sat up all
night and addressed the copies ready for post the next
Sunday, as I had a religious service to conduct on Sunday.
I would not neglect my religious work for anything. The
committee also decided by a majority in which I voted
that unless guarantees were given by the employers to
the satisfaction of the General Secretary and the Union's
solicitor, Mr. W. E. Keefe, the strike was to continue.

These decisions of the committee were, however, not
allowed to remain unchallenged, for I at once received
instructions from the President, Mr. George Nicholls, to
call a special meeting of the Executive, which I did for
December 28th, and there were present Messrs. George
Nicholls, R. Winfrey, George Edwards, J. Arnett, T. Giles,
A. P. Petch, J. Stibbons, M. Berry, W. Codling and
T. Thacker.

The committee discussed the strike at St. Faith's.
The strangest part of the proceeding is that although

DEFEAT 167

they had confirmed the minutes of the last meeting with-
out rescinding anything, they at once set about taking
steps to ignore what was done at the Executive held
on December I7th.

Mr. J. Arnett at once moved, seconded by Mr. J. Stibbons,
that Mr. George Nicholls and Mr. Richard Winfrey be
instructed to visit St. Faith's and use their endeavours
to bring the dispute to a close on the honourable terms
mentioned in the first ballot papers and that they
have full power to act. Before this was put I pointed
out that by the instructions of the meeting held on
December I7th I had sent out fresh ballot papers which
were not all returned. Further, they had just confirmed
what that meeting had done. But they persisted in putting
it to the vote, and Messrs. G. Nicholls, R. Winfrey, A. P.
Fetch, R. Green, J. Arnett and J. Stibbons voted for it.
Against it were Messrs. H. A. Day, W. Godling, M.
Berry and myself.

After the meeting Mr. Nicholls and Mr. Winfrey pro-
ceeded to St. Faith's and interviewed Mr. W. W. Cook
and the other employers and came to the following agree-
ment : The employers undertook to take back at once
thirty-three out of the seventy-five now on strike at the
old rate of wages, viz. 135. per week and the hours of
labour as before. This arrangement left forty-two men
for us to support. This was communicated to me, and
I at once summoned another meeting of the Executive
on Wednesday January 4, 1911. All the committee,
with the exception of Mr. Thacker, were present. Mr.
Winfrey at once moved and Mr. Stibbons seconded that
the seventy-five men now on strike at St. Faith's receive
full strike pay up to Friday January 6th, and that the
thirty-three men who the employers have agreed to take
back be instructed to see their employers and proceed to
work on Monday January Qth, and that strike pay be
continued to the remainder for the present, and that
the committee meet again on January 28th to consider

168 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the matter further. Mr. Day moved and Mr. Codling
seconded an amendment that a third ballot paper be
sent out, stating that Messrs. Nicholls and Winfrey had
visited St. Faith's and find that the employers were only
willing to take back thirty-three of their employees and
that forty-two men would not be taken back. Some
might be taken back by degrees. The members should
be asked to vote on these points : —

(1) Shall we accept the employers' terms ?

(2) Or shall the strike continue and a levy of id. per member

per week be made to enable the men to be paid without
further loss to the Union ?

Before the question was put I pointed out to the com-
mittee that I had received the result of the second ballot,
and I did not see how they could ignore that, for it would
be an insult to the members, which I was sure they
would deeply resent, and further, how could they accept
such terms as the employers offered, when not only were
the employers exacting their own terms, but they were
not willing to take back more than 40 per cent, of their
men ? Such a settlement was unheard of in the history
of Trades Unionism.

In spite of this the question was put, and there voted
for the amendment Messrs. H. A. Day, W. Codling, M.
Berry and myself.

For the resolution Messrs. G. Nicholls, R. Winfrey,
J. Arnett, T. Giles, A. P. Fetch and J. Stibbons. The
resolution was carried and I was instructed to take steps
to carry this out. I then gave the result of the second
ballot :—

For continuing the strike 1,102

Against continuing the strike i.c-53

Majority for standing out 49

Thus the strike that had lasted nearly eight months
was brought to a close, not because the funds of the Union

DEFEAT 169

were exhausted, but because the majority of the committee
honestly believed that it was to the interest of the men
and the Union that it should be closed.

I and those of the committee who were in the minority
thought it was a grave mistake, and I think so to-day.

The troubles of the Union, however, were only just
beginning.

Mr. Day wrote to the press condemning the action
of the committee and publicly advised the members
to take the matter into their own hands by demanding
a General Council Meeting as per Rule 3, Section 3. This
brought to me scores of telegrams and letters demanding
that I should call a General Meeting to undo what the
Executive had done. Of the many letters I received the
following is a specimen, and shows the feeling that existed
amongst the members on the whole matter: —

KENNINGHALL,

January 6, 1911.

DEAR MR. EDWARDS,

I have read in the press with deep regret of the way
in which the committee have stopped the St. Faith's strike. If
it is true that the farmers at St. Faith's have said, and I have
it from good authority, that they were prepared to give the is.
per week, but did not like giving the three hours on the Saturday,
in the face of this how is it they were willing to send the men
back without even asking for the is. or even a promise that it
should be given on a certain date or when the men could work
the full hours ? And, further, they are sending the men back
against the express wish of the whole Union. I certainly thought
the funds of the Union belonged to the members and that they
had power to say how their money should be spent and not the E.G.

I strongly protest against the last two committee meetings
being called at all. The first one was called before the second
ballot had come in and when it was in the hands of the members
to decide. The second one was called after the members had
decided how their money was to be spent and the committee
went and reversed what the members had decided. I say em-
phatically the Union never ought to have been saddled with the
expense of either of these two. The expense ought to have fallen
on thoBe who called the E.G. together. No doubt we shall hear

170 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

at the General Council that we ought to cut down expenses. I
can see no reason, if half a dozen men can spend our money in
that fashion, why we should not call a General Council to deal
with the whole question as far as our members are concerned.
They strongly protest against the entire action of the Executive
in regard to the St. Faith's strike.

Yours truly,
(Signed) J. SAGE.

I received many more letters much more strongly worded,
giving the names and number of members who wanted
a Council to be called. Eight branches sent in requests
for a Council. The Executive met again on January I2th,
when I placed in front of them the telegrams and letters
I had received demanding that the Executive Committee
should call a General Council to discuss the closing of the
St. Faith's strike. By a majority of the Executive they
decided, on the motion of Mr. Winfrey, that Rule 3,
Section 3, stipulating that the E.G. shall summon a
meeting of the Council on a requisition signed by not
less than fifty members representing five branches, had
not been complied with.

The whole question of the St. Faith's dispute was
adjourned until the General Council meet on February 25th.
At this meeting it was evident that the committee were
hopelessly divided and that quite a party spirit was
being manifested. I also became conscious of the fact
that there would be a most bitter attack made on Mr.
Day and myself at the General Council meeting by the
Treasurer of the Union on the St. Faith's dispute. But
I was determined that as far as I was concerned I would
carry out every instruction the committee had given me.
On Friday January 6th I went over to St. Faith's and
paid the men out on strike and reported what I had
already informed them by letter, the conditions of settle-
ment, namely that the employers had agreed to set to
work thirty-three of the men out on strike at the rate of
133. per week and the working hours the same as before,

DEFEAT 171

and that these thirty-three men were to present themselves
at their employers' ready for work on Monday morning
January Qth. I also informed them that the Executive
would continue to support those left out until they met
again, when the whole situation would be revised. The
men received the information with tears, as they felt
the whole case was given away, and I don't think I ever
spoke with greater emotion, to see these brave sons of
the soil after so many months of battle go back on the
same terms as they had left, and what was worse they
were compelled to go back and leave forty-two of their
fellow workers still out. That was worse to them than
going back. They felt that was a sacrifice too great to

ke and those that had stood by them were to be the

t to be victimized.

My old friend George Hewitt, the branch secretary,
as specially marked out for victimization. No one
would employ him at any price. I gave the men as much
encouragement as possible by assuring them that the
Union would not let them starve. I told them they had
fought a noble battle, and although they apparently had
suffered a defeat in their first engagement, still the day
would come when their efforts would be crowned with
victory if they would but stand firm. This seemed to
give them a little courage, and we concluded the meeting
by singing one of our Union songs that we had sung
many a time during the campaign, to the tune of " Lead,
Kindly Light."

i. Strong human love, within whose steadfast will

Is always peace ;

O stay with me storm-tossed on waves of ill,
Let passions cease.

a. The days are gone when far and wide my will

Drove one astray,

Which leads thro' mist and rocks to truth and good.
Be with me, Love, thou fount of fortitude.

172 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

3. Whate'er of pain the passing years allot

I gladly bear ;
With thee I triumph whatsoe'er my lot

Nor can despair.

Freedom from storm thou hast immortal song,
Peace from the fierce oppression of all wrong.

4. So may I far away, when night shall fall

On light and love,
Rejoicing hear the quiet solemn call

All life must prove.

Wounded, yet healed, by Man beloved forgiven.
And sure that goodness is my only heaven.

As we sung it the old club room resounded again and
again, and the sobs of the women were heard above all. But
a note of sadness was sounded at the thought that they
had not won. It was a time of inspiration to me, and I
had a stronger faith than ever that right would yet triumph
over wrong. I advised the men to be loyal to the decision
of the Executive and present themselves at their various
employers' on the Monday and to show no spirit of bitter-
ness to those non-unionists they would have to work with.
This they promised they would do. I also promised those
who would be left out that I would come over each week
and pay them. My old friend George Hewitt, though
he was going to be one of the scapegoats, did not lose
heart, but braced his companions up and told them to
be of good cheer.

CHAPTER XIV
PARTING FROM OLD FRIENDS

As the time drew near for the General Council to meet
there was every evidence that the meeting would be a
stormy one. Resolutions for agenda condemning the
Executive for closing the St. Faith's strike came in by the
score. Letters of protest poured into the office. I drew
up my report, got the books audited, got the balance
sheet printed ready for the meeting as instructed by the
Executive, prepared the agenda, hired the Town Hall
and Assembly Rooms at Fakenham for the day and
invited the representative of the press as ordered by
the Executive. I also prepared myself for the attack
that I knew was going to be made on me. The Executive
met at the office of the Union. The Executive dealt
one more blow at the St. Faith's men by carrying a motion
that all strike pay cease after a week. Five voted for it
and four against. The meeting was stormy all through.

On the Saturday morning my assistant Miss Pike
and myself were up early and got everything ready for
the meeting. Every delegate was presented with a
balance sheet and a copy of my report as he came into
the hall. Exactly at 10.30 a.m. Mr George Nicholls took
the chair ; on his left sat Mr. Winfrey, the Treasurer. I
sat on his right, and the following were on the platform :
Messrs. T. Giles, J. A. Arnett, J. Stibbons, A. P. Petch
and M. Berry. Mr. Godling was at the door as steward.

After the roll call was taken and the minutes of the
last meeting read and confirmed, my report was taken

173

174 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

and discussed, at the suggestion of the chairman, before
we proceeded with the election of the officers. The
following is a summary of it : —

FELLOW WORKERS, — In presenting you with my fifth report I
wish again to thank you for the confidence you have placed in me
during the year ; also all the kind friends that have rendered
me such valuable help during the year. The year has been a
most eventful one. Great interest has been taken in the Union.
We have enrolled over 2,000 members since I last gave my report.
In May last the men in St. Faith's and Trunch districts got rest-
less. The men at St. Faith's put in a demand to the employers
for is. rise and their working week to finish at 2 p.m. on Satur-
day. This was refused and the men came out on strike on May 28th
and have been out on strike ever since. The committee on
December 28th decided to close down the strike at St. Faith's
in consequence of the financial strain.

At the conclusion the President gave his address in
which he rather severely criticized the strike and said
had he been at the committee meeting he should not
have sanctioned the men coming out on strike on such
a request.

Mr. Winfrey condemned the strike and accused Mr.
Day and myself of sanctioning the strike without consulting
the rest of the committee, and said he did not know any-
thing about it until he went to Weasenham on June 6th,
after the men had been out on strike a week. I replied
to this rather warmly, pointing out that I carried out to
the very letter the resolution he (Mr. Winfrey) had moved
at a committee meeting held on April 25th, and, further,
that I received a cheque from Mr. Winfrey on June 4th
to pay the men their first lock-out pay — so how could
he say he did not know ? Further, before the strike
commenced I had written both to the President and the
Treasurer begging them to let me call the committee
together to discuss the whole situation.

The discussion was carried on during the day with great
spirit and incriminations were indulged in from all sides.

PARTING FROM OLD FRIENDS 175

A motion of censure on the Executive was moved by
Mr. G. E. Hewitt on behalf of the St. Faith's Branch for
closing the strike. This was as follows : —

That this Council protests against the dishonourable way the
Executive closed down the St. Faith's strike.

After a long discussion the resolution was put to the
meeting and carried by a large majority.

The President, Mr. Geo. Nicholls, at once handed in
his resignation, and although he was unanimously
requested several times to withdraw it, he refused to
do so. Mr. Winfrey refused to allow his name to
go to the ballot for the treasureship. Mr. Day was
opposing him. Mr. W. R. Smith was elected president
by a large majority. Mr. W. B. Harris vice-president,
Mr. H. A. Day treasurer, and the following were elected
to serve on the Executive : Messrs. J. Arnett, W. Smith,
G. E. Hewitt, W. Holmes, R. Green, H. Harvey, W. G.
Godling, M. Berry and James Coe.

Mr. Nicholls then left the chair, and he with Mr. Winfrey
retired from the meeting. Mr. W. B. Harris occupied it
for the rest of the business, but the meeting was too excited
to transact much business and it ended in confusion.
Thus ended the first chapter of the Union.

I left the meeting greatly perplexed, wondering if the
child I had brought into being was going to be killed in
its infancy. I knew its life was in terrible danger, having
passed through a similar experience in the years that were
past. I had, however, great hopes for the future.

I think that I ought not to close this stage of the
Union's history without paying a tribute to those who
were going out of the movement and who jointly with
me had done their best to build up the Union to its present
position. In the previous pages in giving the facts of
the struggles we had to pass through in the early stages
of the Union it might appear that I complain rather
bitterly of my colleagues who had worked with me during

176 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the four years, but nothing of the kind is my intention.
No body of men have worked with greater honesty or were
prepared to make greater sacrifices in the cause of human
progress. Neither the president, Mr. Nicholls, nor Mr.
Winfrey nor Mr. H. A. Day ever took a penny piece for
time, rail fare or out-of-pocket expenses, and on one
occasion these three gentlemen paid for the delegates'
lunch at one of the General Council meetings. No member
of the committee ever charged more than 2s. per day
and his rail fare, and for the first twelve months took only
their rail fare. In fact, in March we had a balance at
the bank of £1,569 os. lod. saved in less than four years,
and, when it is remembered that the members only paid
2d. per week contribution or 8d. per month, it must be
admitted that there is great credit due to those men who
had given so much time and labour to build up a move-
ment of this kind. Most of them were inexperienced so
far as Trade Unionism was concerned.

The only mistake they made was that they endeavoured
to build a strong labourers' Union on strictly commercial
lines, which was not humanly possible; but the mistake
was a creditable one, and these pioneers of this movement
will go down to history as having laid a foundation of
one of the finest movements in the world's history. I
can look back with my connection with these men in the
early stages of this movement with the greatest pleasure.
The work was hard but it was of the pleasantest kind,
and although Sir Richard Winfrey, M.P., has since allied
himself with a party that is anti-progressive, he has
done some good work for the agricultural labourers.
I am sorry we shall always have to remain in opposite
camps, and I feel it my duty to appear on a platform in
opposition to him, still he must be given credit for the
good work he has done.

The same must be said of my friend Mr. George Nicholls.
I only wish he had stayed with us. He could have done
far more useful work, but this separation is only what

PARTING FROM OLD FRIENDS 177

has always happened in times of strikes. I have never
known a strike so far as agricultural labourers are con-
cerned without it has either ended in a split or a large
number of the labourers concerned leaving the Union,
and that is one of the reasons all through my long connec-
tion with the Labour movement why I have always been
against the strike weapon being used until every other
means have failed to secure justice. Even a victory by
a strike is dearly bought. I would commend this ex-
perience to my young readers who are coming along in
the Labour movement in the future. For strikes in the
future will be more dreadful than they have been in the
past.

12

CHAPTER XV
THE NEW MODEL

THE General Council being over and the new Executive
being elected, they were called upon to bring to a close the
strike according to the decision of the old Executive,
which, though we soon found it to be a very difficult
matter, we set about in a business-like manner. In
our President, Mr. W. R. Smith, and Mr. Holmes we had
two men who had had wide experience in settling such
things ; this made the task much more easy, and we closed
the dispute without inflicting more hardship than we
could possibly help. Apart from this nothing event-
ful happened during the year. I set myself to work
to prevent the split taking wider dimensions than could be
helped, and I soon found that I had got a most sympathetic
Executive Committee which made my task very much
easier. The General Council meeting was held at Faken-
ham on March 9, 1912. The President, Mr. W. R. Smith,
presided. To show the progress we had made during
the year and the task devolving upon us, I will give my
report as I presented it to the General Council : —

RESPECTED Brethren, — In presenting you with my Annual
Report and Balance Sheet, I wish again to thank you for the
continued confidence you have placed in me during the year ;
also to thank the officers and friends who have rendered me such
valuable service in carrying on the work of the Union.

Our worthy president, Mr. W. R. Smith, J.P., has thrown his
whole soul into the work and has attended a large number of
meetings, has cycled hundreds of miles without fee or reward,
and in business meetings has proved himself a most able presi-
dent. Mr. H. A. Day, our treasurer, has rendered most able
assistance in putting the affairs of the Union on a better financial
basis, while Messrs. J. A. Arnett, R. Green, W. Holmes and other

178

THE NEW MODEL 179

members of the Executive have all done useful work. We have
also had the assistance of Messrs. Reeves, George Roberts, M.P.,
George Lansbury, M.P., Keir Hardie, M.P., Noel Buxton, M.P.,
and Joseph Fell.

We commenced the year under a very dark cloud. Differences
of opinion had arisen over the conclusion of the unfortunate
strike at St. Faith's, and because of these differences some of our
old friends left us. Others prophesied that the doom of the
Union was cast. We had also been seriously handicapped by
hostile criticism in some journals, while others had not given us
the same publicity as hitherto.

One of the first things your Executive did on coming into
office was to put the Union on to a thoroughly business-like foot-
ing. All monies are now banked in the Union's own banking
account. All monies are now paid by cheque drawn by the
treasurer, and an entirely new system of book-keeping has been
adopted and every account receives a double entry.

The Executive on coming into office had to bring the dispute
to a conclusion according to the decision of the late Executive,
and this we found to be a most difficult task. It could not be
done without causing a deal of heart-burning amongst many of
the members affected, and we had also to deal with one or two
clear cases of victimization which we were bound to take up.
Yet, notwithstanding this serious crisis, we have been able to
hold our own. We have admitted during the year 617 new mem-
bers. Our organizers have cycled thousands of miles in attending
meetings. Mr. Coe has attended 183 meetings in Norfolk, 14
in Oxfordshire, 13 in Kent, total 210, and has cycled 3,240 miles.
Mr. Codling has held 242 meetings in Norfolk, has walked 202
miles, and cycled 2,840 miles. I have attended 153 meetings in
Norfolk for the Union, 12 in Kent, 18 in Oxfordshire, total
number of meetings for the Union 183. In addition to these I
have attended 83 meetings in connection with my duties as
Guardian and County Councillor. I have attended altogether 266
meetings and have cycled 1,866 miles and have travelled by rail
1,563 miles. The total number of meetings held in Norfolk is
751 and in other counties 57, giving a grand total of 808. Early
in the autumn we received urgent appeals to visit other counties,
and the committee yielded to the requests. So we have for
some weeks past been carrying on a campaign in Kent, Oxfordshire
and Bedfordshire, and have been able to open several new branches
in these counties. New branches have been formed in the following
places : Aylsham, Larkfield, East Mailing, West Mailing, Offham.
Ivy Hatch, Wateringburgh, Roughton, Monchelsea, Barming,
Wardington, Croughton, Chacombe Evenly, Clifton, Souldren,
Chipping, Warden, Cople, Biggleswade and Morening. Sixteen

i8o FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

small branches have become defunct in Norfolk. We have held
fifteen Sunday meetings during the summer months, which again
proved a great success and were attended by several thousand
people. Collections were made at each meeting to defray expenses
and there is a small balance left. The committee had hoped to
have a good balance left to form a benevolent fund to help needy
cases. The collections, however, did not come up to those of last
year and several of the meetings did not pay their way, but the com-
mittee have been able to deal with some few cases out of the fund.

We have been called upon again this year to place a large
number of cases in our solicitor's hands, and these he has dealt
with in a most able and successful way. In three cases he was
able to effect a settlement which put into our members' pockets
£256 I2S. 6d. In other cases he has been successful, as his report
will show. I think the Union ought to congratulate itself that it
has such an able advocate and adviser as Mr. Keefe. The committee
wishes me to press upon all our members that they must not in any
case settle the matter themselves without the solicitor's instruc-
tions when once they have placed the matter into our hands.

Our Union was again this year represented at the Trade Union
Congress held at Newcastle in September. The committee sent
two delegates, Mr. James Coe and myself. We were treated with
great respect by the delegates and much sympathy was expressed
towards our class when we related the great difficulties and the
hardships they have to endure. The Trades Board Act resolution
was carried unanimously and the Parliamentary Committee has
already taken action. I attended the deputation to the President
of the Board of Trade on February 26th and pointed out to him
that a labourer with a wife and children, when he had paid for
rent, coal and clothing, had only just a little over fd. per
meal, and therefore you as a class were receiving much below
a living wage. The President of the Board of Trade, whilst
admitting that you were underpaid, asked for the Government to
have time to work the Act before any more trades were included.

The President of the Board of Trade did the Union the honour
of appointing two of its organizers on the Advisory Committee
of the Labour Exchange.

Our President also has a seat on the committee, and I think
that as time goes on we may be able to do some good by pre-
venting Labour Exchanges being used to import blackleg labour
in time of disputes.

Brethren, in closing my report let me give you a note of warn-
ing. We are on the eve of a great social upheaval, the greatest
the world has ever seen. It has already begun with the great
labour unrest through the industrial world. It is a proof that
the workers are determined that better conditions of labour shall

THE NEW MODEL 181

prevail. A commencement has also been made in Parliament
with social legislation, such as Old Age Pensions and the Insur-
ance Act. The latter will come into operation during the year,
and for the first time in the history of this country the State has
recognized that it owes a duty to its workpeople by insuring
them against sickness. There is, however, a grave danger that
the capitalist class will use every means in their power to saddle
the entire cost of the Act upon the shoulders of the workers
by a reduction in their wages and an increase in their cost
of living and thus prevent the toiling masses from obtaining
the benefits of the Act. Unless our class take a timely
warning they will be helpless. The capitalist class will fight
with all their force to delay the day of social emancipation,
and it will require the united action of the workers to
prevent the capitalist and privileged class from crushing noble
efforts that are now being made for industrial freedom. Your
Union has now been in existence for five years. Its progress has
not been so rapid as some of us had hoped after the bitter experi-
ence of the rural workers during their disorganized state. We
thought that long before now at least 90 per cent, of the labourers
would have been organized. That a large amount of time and
money would have to be spent we were well aware, and that a
great deal of opposition would have to be encountered, but the
cost of establishing the Union has been beyond the wildest dream
of any of us. I think the time has come when some steps ought
to be taken to obtain some financial help for organizing work,
because, as is shown in the financial statement, the contributions
of the members have gone down during the year in Norfolk, which
means that there has been a decrease in members largely due to
a number of young men leaving the country for other spheres of
labour. Notwithstanding this there has been a good awakening
in other counties, and there is now a prospect of the Union
becoming a national movement, which is essential if we are to
take our part in the social battle that is about to be fought.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS,

WENSUM HOUSE, General Secretary.

HEMPTON, FAKENHAM,
December 31, 1911.

The officers were all elected and the delegates were
well pleased with the position of the Union after it had
passed through such a terrible crisis. The breach that
was made the year before was apparently healed and I
was enabled to proceed with my work with a much lighter

182 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

spirit, as it was evident the Union would very soon leap
forward during the year. The Executive had decided
to become an Approved Society under the Insurance Act.
I had been elected by the Government to serve on the
Advisory Committee under the Act. I was also elected to
serve on the Advisory Committee of the Labour Exchange.
The work, however, at the office was becoming very
much more complicated through the Union becoming
an Approved Society, and the system of book-keeping
required by the Government was of such a nature that
my assistant, Miss Pike, felt she was not equal to it. I
too was not up to book-keeping of that kind, for it required
an experienced clerk, and the committee were compelled
to dispense with the service of Miss Pike, greatly to my
regret. Mr. R. B. Walker, of Banbury, applied for the
post, and in June was appointed assistant secretary. This
appointment released me more for outside work and
enabled me to give more attention to the organizing depart-
ment, and we were very soon able to make rapid progress.

During the year 1911 it became evident to me that my
dear wife was fast failing in health mentally as well as
physically, and that her end was drawing near. Her
condition caused me the greatest concern and I looked
forward to the future with dismay. But at the com-
mencement of the New Year 1912 she apparently took
a sudden change for the better, especially mentally — in
fact, she became her former self again. This sudden
change blinded me to the real state of her health and I
seemed to buoy myself up with the hope that she would
be spared to me for some few years and that she would
again be able to stand by my side. I was, however, not
to be long deceived as to her true state, for by the begin-
ning of April the disease took a serious turn for the worse,
she took to her bed and her suffering was great. For three
weeks I never left her day or night. I never took my
clothes off, but watched by her side. In this hour of
sorrow I had one comfort, that her intellect was as bright

THE NEW MODEL 183

as ever. She made requests that I should not leave her,
and I never did, and took great care that her every wish
should be gratified. The last Sunday she was alive she
made a request that the Salvation Army band should be
asked if they would come and play under her window,
and the tunes she selected were " Lead, Kindly Light,"
and " Nearer my God to Thee." This request was at
once granted, and on the Sunday afternoon the band came
and played as requested. They never played more
sweetly and it was thoroughly appreciated by my dear
one. On Monday we saw that the end was drawing near.
So great was her suffering that on Monday I begged of
Dr. Fisher to try to do something to ease her pain, which
he did, and she passed a peaceful night. Early on Tuesday
morning the effects of the medicine were exhausted and
she was again racked with pain. About seven o'clock I
saw the end was come.

She raised herself up in bed and placed herself in my
arms and breathed her last.

The last words she said were " Good-bye, dear boy,
I am going."

Her birthday was on April 22nd, and she died on
April 24th. I laid her to rest in Fakenham Cemetery.
I have erected a stone at the grave to her memory and
the following inscription is on it : —

IN LOVING MEMORY

OF
CHARLOTTE EDWARDS,

THE BELOVED WIFE OF GEORGE EDWARDS, C.C.
WHO PASSED AWAY APRIL 24, IQI2.

AGED 70 YEARS.

I loved her, yes, no tongue can tell
How much I loved her, and how well;
Christ loved her too, and thought it best
To take her home with Him to rest.

" Thy Will be done,"

184 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Had she lived until June 2ist of that year we should
have been together for forty years. We shared our joys
and bore our sorrows together. Hers had been a lonely
life, but she made the sacrifice for the Cause in
which she was as deeply interested as I was myself.
This shows the noble spirit of the woman and endeared
her the more to me. No one can tell the lonely life the
wife of a public man has to live, but she never
complained.

She was always anxious to help me, and if she thought
I was in any way depressed and disappointed she would
cheer me up with land words and press me on with my work.
In fact, our lives had become one. That made the blow
the heavier. I felt I had lost part of myself. In any case
I had lost a good helpmate, and a chair became vacant
that could never again be filled.

When my wife was laid to rest, then the effects of the
loss fell on me with full force. Three weeks of anxious
watching and the twelve months thought and care I
had with her and the worry of the crisis the Union was
passing through had told upon me. This caused me to
have a serious nervous breakdown, and I felt sure the
day was not far distant when I should have to lay down
the cares of a responsible official life. I had, however,
a most sympathetic Executive who did all they could to
help me, and with their help I pushed forward. The Union
made rapid progress. We extended our borders. We
had a pressing invitation to open up a campaign in Lanca-
shire, and during the summer and winter I addressed
several meetings and opened up several branches in
Lancashire. By the end of the year we had several
hundred members in that county, and I see by the report
which I presented to the General Council meeting held at
Fakenham on Saturday February 8, 1913, that we had
made more progress than at any time since the Union
was inaugurated and had saved £138 i8s. 9|d. The
Council meeting was a very successful one. I again set

THE LATE MRS. GEORGE EDWARDS.

THE NEW MODEL 185

to work with great earnestness, but with impaired health
and broken spirit.

I devoted a deal of time to Lancashire during the first
month of the year. The Trade Union Congress held
at Newport, Mon., in September 1912 elected me
on the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union
Congress. That was the second time the agricultural
labourers had had a seat on the Parliamentary Committee.
Mr. Joseph Arch was the first representative. During
the year 1913 we made rapid progress in Lancashire,
but it soon became evident that we were in for some
trouble in that county, and in consequence I had in
the early spring to devote all my time to it. I soon
found that the varying elements were prominent and
that I had quite a different type of man to deal with to
what I had in Norfolk. They were very near the great
industrial centres and had caught some of their spirit.
I did my best to keep them calm, took every course possible
to get into touch with the farmers, and succeeded in getting
one interview at which the Union was represented by
the president and myself. We tried to effect a settlement
but failed, and on June 20th the strike took place, con-
tinuing until July 8th. The men's demands were to
cease work at I p.m. on Saturday, 6d. an hour overtime
pay, and a minimum wage of 243. per week and recognition
of the Union. By the second day of the strike we had
just 2,000 men out. The men, however, displayed
great determination and solidity, and obtained a rise
of 2S. per week, 6d. an hour overtime and the work-
ing week to cease at 2 p.m. on Saturday. This was
the first time in the history of agricultural labourers
that they had obtained a reduction in the hours of
labour.

At the commencement of the dispute I issued an appeal
to the various Trade Unions and other friends, and the
response was magnificent. I received something like
£788. Mr. Noel Buxton sent a cheque for £ TOO, and through

i86 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

this response we only had to spend about £500 of the
Union's funds, although the strike and other expenses
connected with it cost £1,250. At the conclusion of the
strike my old complaint returned again worse than ever
and my nervous breakdown was complete. I felt there
was no other course open for me but to resign, for I could
carry on no further, and the Union had developed so rapidly
that it was now beyond me. I came therefore to the
conclusion that it would be better for the movement for
younger men to take control. I had succeeded in getting
what I had been fighting to obtain for years, namely the
Saturday half -holiday.

On my return home I placed my resignation in the hands
of the Executive. They would not accept it at the time,
but gave me a month's rest. But at the end of the month
I had to give up all hope, and the committee accepted the
resignation with deep regret and allowed me to do what
organizing I felt able to do. I moved into a private house
in Fakenham with my wife's niece, Mrs. Kernick, who on
the death of my wife came to live with me and look after
me. During the winter I picked up a bit and was able
to do some organizing work.

In 1914 I was appointed by the Lord Chancellor a
Justice of the Peace for the County of Norfolk.

I also took some meetings for the National Land Campaign
Committee, ceasing to receive any salary from the Union
at my own request. In August the Great War commenced.
I, like most of the Labour leaders,. felt it my duty to do
what I could to help the nation in the hour of need. I
believed then, and I believe still, that Germany was
bent on obtaining a world-wide military domination ;
I felt it my duty to put the Nation's interest
before any other consideration. Not that I believed in
war, for war to me is a crime of the deepest dye against
humanity.

The Burston School Strike is one of the most interesting

THE NEW MODEL 187

and peculiar disputes I have taken part in. Here was I
compelled to take sides against one of the committee of
the County Council of which I was a member during
the latter part of 1913 and the beginning of 1914.
The Burston School teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Higdon,
for some reason had a difference with the Managers,
and as I read the particulars I came to the belief
that there was some other reason for the Managers'
action.

An inquiry that was held on February 23 and 29,
1914, as to the charges that the Chairman of the Managers'
brought against the teachers showed that they were of
a trifling nature and never ought to have been brought.
I also thought, and still think, the decision come to inflicted
a punishment upon the teachers far more severe than the
case deserved, even if the charges were true, which I did
not believe, and to me their dismissal which took place
on March 31, 1914, was a clear case of victimization and
I felt it my duty to support them. Soon after their
dismissal the children all struck and refused to attend the
Council School. Summonses were issued against the
parents for neglecting to send their children to school.
A large meeting was held on the green on the Sunday after
the parents were convicted at Diss, which was attended
by nearly two thousand people, and a resolution of protest
was passed requesting that a public inquiry be held.
I attended and gave an address. The meeting was
conducted on strictly religious lines, and I took for
my text " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour."

After this meeting and after seeing the devotion of
the people to the teachers and having satisfied myself
that the teachers and the parents of the children were
fighting a just battle, I decided that I would do my best
to champion their cause. I will say, as I look back at
the fight I have made on their behalf, I am satisfied I
never championed a more righteous cause during my long

188 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

public life. I was sure, however, at the commencement
of the struggle that I should have to fight almost single-
handed so far as the County Council was concerned, for
I had at that time only one Labour colleague on the
Council, and that was my esteemed friend Mr. W. B.
Taylor.

I should like to say that I never have accused
any of my colleagues on the Council or on the Educa-
tion Committee of being actuated by any spirit of
unfairness or with any spirit of political or religious
prejudice.

I have always contended that they acted in what, in
their judgment, were the best interests of the education
of the children ; but I have always contended, and do
to-day, that they allowed themselves to be biassed by
the political prejudice of one or two of the Managers,
and that was what I set myself out to fight. My first
effort on the Council was to move that the Education
Committee be requested to hold a public inquiry. On
this being put to the vote only my colleague and I
voted for the motion. My next effort on the teachers'
behalf was to move that the Education Committee be
asked to reinstate the teachers for the period of the war,
in order that peace and concord might prevail in the
village. On this occasion I warned the Council that unless
something in the direction of peace was done, the whole
great Trade Union movement would take the matter up,
and then they would probably have another school built.
My warning, however, was unheeded and the resolution
was lost. This time I received a little more support,
and Mr. W. B. Taylor, Mr. Coe, Mr. Day and Mr. Pollard
voted with me. This brought public sympathy to the
teachers. Many of the Trade Union leaders took the
matter up, a subscription list was opened, hundreds of
pounds were subscribed, a new school was built, which
is called the Burston Strike School, and it stands there
as a monument of what the subscribers believed to be

THE NEW MODEL

189

a great fight for religious and political freedom. I have
never regretted the part I took in this great fight. I
am, however, satisfied that had the County Council taken
my advice at the time most of this unpleasantness might
have been avoided.

CHAPTER XVI
THE GREAT WAR

ON August 4, 1914, the Great War commenced and, as
stated, I came to the conclusion, like most of the other
Labour leaders, that according to the information I
had at my disposal we had no other alternative but to
enter the war. I felt that it was a struggle for our very
existence ; further, that we were fighting to overcome
one of the greatest curses to humanity, namely the wicked
spirit of militarism. I therefore decided to put what
appeared to me at the time the nation's interest before
any other consideration. I spoke at a good many recruiting
meetings in the early stages of the war. So far did I
carry my patriotism that some of my friends began to be
rather nervous about me for fear I should carry it too far,
but they need not have been, for I never deviated one iota
in my views on the Labour questions nor was there any
fear that I should ever leave the cause to which I had
devoted all my life. I took, however, the view that it
would be the poor that would be the first to suffer, should
we be defeated or should the enemy succeed in starving
us, as the following letter I wrote to the women of the
country will testify. It appeared in the Eastern Daily
Press :—

To the working-women of Norfolk, the wives and mothers and
sisters of our brave boys who are now so gallantly fighting for
their country in France and Belgium and other parts of the
world.

I feel constrained to make an appeal to you in the hour of our
190

THE GREAT WAR 191

national danger to consider seriously the gravity of the situation
and what it would mean to this country, especially the working
classes, should Germany and her confederates win this war.
Everything that is dear in our English life will be destroyed ;
all our hopes for improvements in our national life will be blighted ;
the working classes will be thrown back into far worse conditions
than they were one hundred years ago ; all our liberties so hardly
won for us by our forefathers will be lost.

I ask you to consider for one moment what has taken place
in Belgian and French towns and villages. The homes of the
poor have been destroyed by fire and sword. Old men and
women have been murdered in cold blood, women and children
outraged and killed, mothers separated from their children and
wives from their husbands, not knowing whether they are dead
or alive. What these poor people have suffered is a small thing
in comparison to what would happen to us should our enemies
ever reach these shores, and they will unless we are able to defeat
and destroy the cruel and barbarous military power of Germany.
Do you wish your daughters to be outraged, your children
slaughtered ? Would you like to see our veterans of industry
murdered, our homes burnt and our towns made desolate ? No,
I know you would not. No women are more devoted to their homes
and loving to their children than the women of Norfolk. The
danger, however, is very great and it can only be prevented by
everyone doing all that lies in their power to help the nation in
the hour of distress. It is for the protection of our own hearths
and homes that we are engaged in this terrible war, hence the
great call on the manhood of this country. And now the time
has arrived when the womanhood of the nation have to be appealed
to, and I am making a patriotic appeal to you, the women of
my own country, to come forward and help in the present
crisis.

In making this appeal to you I am asking you to do a thing
which I had hoped you would never have been asked to do again
and which, I am thankful to say, the improved conditions of
labour have made unnecessary. But the crisis is so great and
the danger of losing all that is sacred and good in our national
life is so pronounced, that I venture to make this appeal to you
to offer your services in cultivating the land in order that as
much food can be produced at home as possible. There will be
a great deal of work to do in the spring, such as hoeing and weed-
ing, getting the land fit for the turnip crops and many light jobs
which hitherto have been done by men ; and, as there is a great
shortage of labour, we will see that fair wages shall be offered to
you. One of the first essentials of life is food, and if this cannot
be produced, then a great disaster is staring us in the face. To

192 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

prevent this our womenkind are called to help. I therefore
appeal to you in the name of God, who made you free, and in
the interest of your children to help in this hour of need.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) GEORGE EDWARDS.
FAKENHAM,
January 3, 1916.

At the passing of the Military Service Act and the
setting up of Tribunals, I with my old friend George Hewitt
was asked by the Union to represent Labour on the Norfolk
Appeal Tribunal, which we did. On that Tribunal we
watched very closely the interest of the class we were sent
there to represent. It was, however, a most unpleasant
task and one that I would never undertake again, should
the occasion arise, which I hope never will. Before leaving
this matter and the part I took in the war I would like to
say that I am bitterly disappointed at the result of the
war, and it has entirely altered my outlook on war and
its causes and has confirmed in my mind more than ever
the opinion that force is no remedy, and that, unless
the nations disarm and men devote their great inventive
and scientific powers in the direction of peace, civilized
man will soon be utterly destroyed.

At the setting up of the Norfolk War Agricultural
Committee Mr. G. E. Hewitt and myself were elected on it
to represent Labour. We were enabled on this committee
to do some very useful work. Our business was to insist
that the land be properly cultivated, also to force the
bringing back of land that had been laid down to grass
to arable cultivation. We had also to look after the
service men who were medically unfit for foreign service,
and who were transferred to the land, and to insist that
the farmers treated them fairly. Another useful oppor-
tunity presented itself for me to do some work for the
people on the establishment of the Food Control Committee.
I was elected a Labour representative on the Walsingham
District Committee and was elected chairman, a position

THE GREAT WAR 193

I held until the committee finished its work. I think I
can claim that, with the assistance of my colleagues, we
did some most useful work and administered the Act
fairly between all classes. We certainly did prevent a
great deal of profiteering and enabled the people to obtain
their food on much better terms than they otherwise
would have done.

On the passing of the War Pension Act and the setting
up of War Pension Committees, I was elected on the Norfolk
County Committee. I was also elected on the Walsingham
War Pension District Committee and was appointed its
first chairman, which position I held until I was elected a
Member of Parliament, when I resigned in consequence of
being unable to attend its meetings. But I look back upon
my work on this authority with the greatest satisfaction.
It was a humane work and a labour of love. It is the
greatest joy of my life to know that I have been able to
do something for these poor widows and children who
have been deprived of their bread-winners when they
most needed them, and further, to know that I have been
able to help the poor fellows who have had their health
wrecked through serving their country. During my term
of office on this committee my house was always open
to receive these poor fellows who sought my aid. In
fact all classes came to me for help and advice.

It became evident early in the spring of 1915 that
the agricultural labourers were becoming very unsettled
and justly so. The war commenced in August 1914, and
with it the cost of living went up by leaps and bounds,
but the labourers' wages never rose a penny piece. At
last the labourers informed the officials of the Union that
if we did not move in the matter they would take the
whole question into their own hands. We appealed to
the farmers to meet us in conference and discuss the
question, but they refused to meet us, and at last we had
no other alternative but to issue notices to the farmers

13

194 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

for our men to cease work. One Friday in March there
were sent from our office 2,000 notices. The next day,
when I was at Norwich attending a County Council meeting,
I met Mr. Keith of Egmere, who was a member of the
Council, and this question of notices was discussed, and we
both expressed regret that it was necessary to take this
course. Mr. Keith asked me if anything could be done
and said that Mr. H. Overman of Weasenham would
like me to meet about five of the largest fanners at the
Royal Hotel that day in Norwich. I told him that was
impossible as I had no official authority to do such a thing.
The President of the Union was not in the city and I
could not get into touch with him. I therefore dared not
do such a thing on my own authority and, further, I
could not think of attending such a conference alone even
if I had authority to do so. A few minutes after I met Mr.
H. Overman and he suggested that I should meet the
farmers unofficially and talk the matter over and see if
it would not be possible to do something to get an official
conference called during the next week and if possible
prevent a strike. This I agreed to do on condition that
Mr. Herbert Day, Treasurer of the Union, attended with
me, and with the distinct understanding that our meeting
should be absolutely informal and there should be nothing
said or done that would have the least appearance of
being official. This was agreed to, and at 3 p.m. Mr. Day
and myself met Mr. H. Overman, Mr. Keith, Mr. Lionel
Rodwell, Colonel Groom and Lord Leicester, the Lord
Lieutenant of the County. In the first part of the discussion
the farmers complained bitterly of the action of the Union
in issuing notices. I told them I was not there to
discuss the rights or wrongs of the action of the Uuion
in issuing notices, but to see if something could not be
done to get the two sides together. But I would say
this : the Farmers' Federation was responsible for what
had happened, for the Executive of the Union had
asked the Federation to meet us over and over again,

THE GREAT WAR 195

but they had refused to do so. We had, therefore, no
other alternative but to take the course we did, for our
men were determined they would have a readjustment
of their wages. But if there was anything I could do,
even at the eleventh hour, to get the two sides together
at a conference I would do it. After this little straight
talk the farmers saw the difficult position we were in
and expressed the opinion that the attitude taken up by
the Federation was wrong. I think I ought to say that
none of the farmers present were members of the Federa-
tion, but they were the largest farmers in the county
and the most influential and were almost able to force
the issue. They promised that if the Union's Executive
would meet them they would undertake to see that, what-
ever agreement was arrived at, it was carried out. With
this understanding I undertook to use my influence with
the Executive to have such a conference held at Fakenham.
On my return to Fakenham I informed the General Secre-
tary of what had happened and asked him to get into
touch with the President and obtain his views on the
matter, which he did, and I think I ought to say that my
action was rather severely criticized by some of the
Executive.

But the President put his foot down and was deter-
mined that such a conference should be held. It was
arranged to meet the above-named farmers, with Lord
Leicester in the chair, and the following were appointed
to meet them at the Crown Hotel on Thursday in that
week : The President, Mr. W. R. Smith, the vice-president,
Mr. George Edwards, the General Secretary, Mr. R. B.
Walker, and Mr. G. E. Hewitt. Mr. Smith put our case
in such a reasonable and forceful way that it was un-
answerable and put in a claim for a 55. per week increase,
bringing the wages up to £i. On receiving our requests
and after some little discussion the farmers retired, and
after some few minutes they returned and made us the
following offer. They would agree to recommend to

I96 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the farmers a rise of 35. per week at once if we would
undertake to withdraw our notices. We withdrew and
discussed the farmers' offer, and after some few minutes'
discussion agreed to accept the offer as a compromise,
and undertook on our part to withdraw all our notices.
At the same time we informed the farmers that we con-
sidered we were justly entitled to the 55. per week rise,
but for the sake of peace we accepted the compromise.
To-day I rejoice that I was the means of bringing the two
sides together and preventing a terrible dispute. It
was also opening up a new chapter in the history of the
Agricultural Industry, for here was collective bargaining,
something that I had been working to obtain for over
forty years. Ever since the Federation has met us every
year and our readjustments have been made in a most
friendly manner, and many differences which would have
ended in bitter disputes have been avoided. I do not
think either side would like to go back to the old indivi-
dualistic system of bargaining. At least I hope not.

For years at our Annual General Council I had moved
a resolution requesting the Government to bring the
industry under the Trade Boards Act. I had also moved
it at several Trades Union Congresses and had attended
as a deputation with the Parliamentary Committee of
the Trades Union Congress before the then President of
the Board of Trade and put our case in favour of it, but
with very little success. My friend Mr. Noel Buxton,
who was then member for North Norfolk, had moved
a resolution upon it in the House in 1916. The matter
had become so pressing that the Government could not
resist it any longer, and in the spring of that year Mr.
Lloyd George announced in a speech that the Government
intended to bring in a Bill to be called the Corn Production
Act, which was to set up an Agricultural Wage Board.
This Board was to fix wages from time to time that should
enable the labourer to keep himself and family in such a

THE GREAT WAR 197

state of health as would enable him to be an efficient
labourer. It also fixed the minimum wage at 255. per
week. The Bill was brought in early in the session of
1917, and in it was inserted a clause fixing the minimum
wage at 253. per week. This to us at the time appeared
to be a most inadequate figure as the cost of living had
increased beyond all bounds, and we decided to use every
means within our power to get that figure struck out and
305. put in its place. We appointed a deputation to
lobby the members when the Bill was passing through its
final stages to induce the members to vote for the 305.
I was one of the deputation and I did my best to persuade
those members I got into touch with to vote for the 305.
But the Government had made up its mind to stand by
the 255. Hence on a division the 305. was rejected and
the Bill became law during the session of 1917. I was
elected on the first Central Wage Board. I was one of
the Government's nominees. The Board consisted of
sixteen representatives of the workers, sixteen employers
and seven appointed members who were to take an im-
partial view and decide the question when the two sides
failed to agree on an equality of votes. Eight of the
workers and eight of the farmers with the appointed
members were appointed by the Government and approved
by the Minister of Agriculture, and, as stated above, I
was appointed by the Government. On our side were
Messrs. W. R. Smith (National Agricultural Labourers'
Union), R. B. Walker, G. E. Hewitt, T. G. Higdon, Robert
Green and W. Holmes. For the Workers' Union there
were Messrs. G. Dallas and John Beard. There was one
woman on the workers' side. The Government appointed
Messrs. George Nicholls, George Edwards, Denton
Woodhead, Haman Porter, H. L. Lovell, with Messrs.
Gaurd and Richardson from Wales. We had our first
meeting in November 1917. Mr. W. R. Smith was elected
leader for our side. Sir Ailwyn Fellowes, now Lord Ailwyn,
was appointed chairman, and he soon endeared himself

198 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

to all sides, proving himself to be a most able and impartial
chairman. The first business of the Board was to set up
District Wage Committees. We first decided to set up one
committee for each county. Then the Board left it for
each side to select their own representatives, and for us
it was a most difficult task as we had two Unions catering
for one industry and there was a great spirit of rivalry
existing between them, which created a bitter spirit between
the two secretaries. This was greatly to be regretted
and caused friction when there ought to have been
harmony. We always, however, showed a united front
in the Board Room. Then there was Mr. Denton
Woodhead, who represented some independent Friendly
Society. It took us some weeks to set up the committees,
and we were into the New Year 1918 before the Board
could settle down to its real work of dealing with the
wages. In the meantime the men were getting very
restless, especially in Norfolk, as the cost of living was
going up by leaps and bounds, and I could see serious
trouble looming in the near future unless the question was
tackled at once. I begged of the Board to set the Norfolk
Wages Committee up at once and let us get on with our
work. This they did, and I was put on the Norfolk Com-
mittee, and at our first meeting was elected leader of the
workers' side. We had nine on each side, and there were
five appointed members. Our side consisted of myself,
Messrs. S. Peel, J. Pightling, R. Wagg, Mrs. S. Kemp,
Messrs. H. Harvey, R. Land, W. Skerry and J. Shickle.
Mr. Russell Colman was appointed chairman. At our first
meeting I moved that the wages should be raised to 305.
per week for a 54 hour week and that the working week
end at one o'clock on Saturdays. This was rejected
absolutely by the employers, and they moved an amend-
ment that the wages should remain at 255. per week and
the working hours remain as before. We had a long dis-
cussion, and at last the employers' section asked for the
question to stand adjourned for a week. We objected, but

THE GREAT WAR 199

the appointed members agreed, and the meeting was ad-
journed until the following Monday week, when we met
again and had a long discussion. The appointed members
suggested time after time that the two sides should meet
and come to some agreement. The employers withdrew
their amendment and moved another that the wages be
raised to 275. 6d. per week and that the working hours
be 57 hours per week. This we absolutely refused to accept
and would not move one inch. The appointed members
retired and discussed the matter. After a time they sent
for the leaders of each side and made a suggestion in the
form of a compromise. They would be prepared to vote
for 305. for a 55^ hours' working week. The farmers
refused the offer. I went back to my colleagues, and after
some discussion we reluctantly agreed to accept the
compromise, and on the appointed members returning to
the room they put their suggestion to the vote. The
employers voted against ; we voted with the appointed
members, and it was carried, and the recommendations
were sent to the Central Board which met the same week.
The Central Wage Board rejected the 55 J hours and adopted
our first proposition, namely 54 hours as a working week,
and that the week's work end on Saturday at I p.m., or
that there be one six and a half-hour day a week, all that
was worked over to be paid for as overtime. We also
fixed the overtime pay at time and a quarter for six days
and time and a half on Sundays. We also raised the
pay of the horsemen and stockmen in proportion. The
Wage Board issued their notices accordingly, but it was
issued in such a way that it was open to a grave misunder-
standing and was misunderstood. The men and some
of the leaders thought it came into force at once and
several disputes occurred. I, however, took an opposite
view and contended that it did not come into force for a
month. For this view I was severely criticized and was
accused of joining hands with the farmers to defraud the
men. So much was this statement spread abroad that

200 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

I felt bound to defend my honour and challenged my
accusers to point to one solitary instance in which I had
played the men false. It was evident I was right in the
view I held, and if my advice had been taken, a good deal
of friction would have been avoided and the men would
have had their one o'clock several months earlier, for the
Board at their next meeting, while confirming the order,
postponed the one o'clock on Saturdays until three months
after the war was over. However, the men got their
one o'clock on Saturdays after hostilities ceased, an
improvement I had been fighting for for nearly fifty
years. I hope the men, now the Wages Boards are
abolished, will not barter away an improvement in their
working conditions. I also hope the farmers will act in a
good spirit and cause no friction by trying to force the men
back to old conditions.

CHAPTER XVII
THE LABOUR PARTY

THE Union had decided, after taking a ballot of the
members according to the Act of 1913, to take political
action and to be affiliated to the Labour Party. I at
once decided to be loyal to my Union. Early in 1918 I
publicly announced that I intended to sever my con-
nection with the Liberal Party and that henceforth my
influence should be given to the political Labour Party.
I had for some time been getting out of touch with the
Liberal Party. In fact, I always was an advanced Radical
and had hoped the party would have advanced in political
thought. But I had now become convinced that there
was no hope that the Liberal Party would ever advance
in political thought sufficiently to meet the need of the
growing aspirations of the new democracy. I had there-
fore no alternative but to separate myself from the party
I had so long been associated with. The wrench, however,
was great, for I could not separate myself from old associates
lightly, especially when it was a party in which I had
received my first political education. But it had to come.
My political thought had outgrown the old political
clothes I had worn so long. Early in the spring of 1922
the Executive of the Union decided that they would
place candidates of their own in the field at the General
Election whenever it should come. They decided, how-
ever, that this should be carried out in the most democratic
way. Every branch of the Union was asked to send in
nominations. This having been done, the Executive

202 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

decided that they would send five names out of the nomina-
tions received. They also decided that they would put
three candidates into the field, as the National Labour
Party had promised to give £1,000 towards the election
expenses of two candidates that would be run under our
auspices. The candidates that went to the ballot were
R. B. Walker, George Edwards, George Nicholls, Capt.
E. N. Bennett and T. G. Higdon. Those successful were
R. B. Walker, George Edwards, and George Nicholls,
Mr. Higdon being the next highest. Mr. Walker was
selected by the King's Lynn Divisional Labour Party to
contest that Division, and I was asked to meet the newly
formed South Norfolk Divisional Labour Party with a view
to making a statement on the current topics of the day.
In my speech I severely criticized the Government's war
policy and claimed that the war could have been ended some
months before and a great number of precious lives have
been spared had they embraced the opportunity that
presented itself and entered into negotiations. In fact, I
advocated peace by negotiation as I considered the time
was come when every effort should be made to stop this
horrible slaughter. I declared my adhesion to the Labour
Party's policy and stated that on social questions affecting
the lives of the people I stood where I did before the war.
I retired for a few minutes, and on being called into the
room I was informed by the chairman, Mr. E. G. Gooch,
that the delegates had unanimously decided to invite
me to become their prospective candidate to contest the
Division at the General Election. I thanked them for
their kind invitation and accepted it. On the Monday
a full report of my speech and my adoption appeared in
the press. I was, however, to have showered on my head
storms of abuse. The writer of current topics in the
Eastern Daily Press was particularly severe, and other
writers in the press in their anxiety to discredit me
did not hesitate to stoop to misinterpret my words.
While I deeply resented the misinterpretation of words

THE LABOUR PARTY 203

and claimed that the services I had rendered to my country
during the war were sufficient answer to my critics and
that I was anything but disloyal to my country, I also
claimed that I had a right to hold my own views on what
I thought was the best method of bringing this terrible
conflict to an end. My opponents made as much political
capital out of it as they could, but I was satisfied that I was
right, if not for any other reason, for the sake of humanity.
On November 20, 1918, at a special meeting of the South
Norfolk Divisional Labour Party I was formally adopted
as their candidate, and the following is a press report of
my address.

Mr. Edwards, who was loudly cheered, said he asked the electors
to keep before their minds not persons but principles. He some-
what regretted that Mr. Soames had withdrawn, because he was
certain that however much they might differ, he was a perfect
gentleman, and they would have carried through the contest in
a way that would have been creditable to them. Whoever might
be their opponents, so far as he was concerned, he intended to
act in such a way, whatever the result, that he should not have
to look back with any regrets to the contest. He would give
his opponents credit for being honest in their intentions. If he
was reviled he would not revile again, but if character was attacked
he would be compelled to defend character and the position
he took up. No one regretted more than the Labour Party that
the election had been brought upon them. The Government,
however, had determined to go to the country, and the Labour
Party took up the gauntlet and would fight for the principles
they held dear. The Government said they wanted a mandate.
What greater mandate could they have than a united people
behind them, and they had a united country to back them up
in their peace terms. What was wanted was a just and permanent
peace, with no vindictiveness, and the Labour Party held the
view that there was no safeguard for a permanent peace except
on the grounds laid down by President Wilson. The Labour Party
was going in for a League of Nations, for such a league laid down
on the President's principles would mean a permanent peace,
and bring about universal brotherhood. They meant by a
League of Nations a league which should consist of all the civil-
ized nations of the world, and that there should be such inter-
national dealings with all questions which would prevent war in
the future. (Hear, hear.) What he understood when the Presi-

204 PROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

dent talked about a League of Nations and no boycott was that
there should be no preferential tariffs, and that all the nations
should be dealt with alike. He wished those who talked about
boycotting the Germans and taxing their goods out of existence
would think for a moment. Germany was too big a nation to be
crushed, and the war had taught us German science and inven-
tions were not dead. If it was attempted to crush her she would
prepare for another war, and England and other nations would
also have to prepare, and the past war would be nothing as com-
pared to another war. They had to consider the best way to meet
the difficulties which had to be met in this country, and one oi
the first things was reconstruction, and how to help the men who
had been fighting for us. The Labour Party would not have the
same treatment meted out to soldiers as was meted out after
previous wars. They stood for the discharged soldier, the wounded
and the maimed, and would see that they were kept in a condi-
tion worthy of the nation for which they had been fighting.
(Hear, hear.) That would be done without the taint of charity
or pauperism. (Hear, hear.) So far as he could see, the Govern-
ment's scheme for discharged soldiers was free insurance, a
month's furlough, and thirteen weeks' out of work pay if they
could not obtain employment. The Labour Party demanded
that they should be returned to civil life and kept out of the
State until employment was found for them at Trade Union rate
of wages. (Hear, hear.) They stood for the bringing into opera-
tion at once of the Home Rule Act, and to see that justice was
done to all and injustice to no one. They asked for a living wage
for all workers, and their class having made the sacrifice they
had — and he did not say the other classes had not done their
bit — was not going back to pre-war conditions. Touching upon
agriculture, Mr. Edwards said the Labour Party were going in
for a wage which would enable parents to raise up healthy children.
The first function of the party when it came into power was to
see that a long neglected class was lifted up above the poverty
line on which it had for so long existed. Everything had to
come from the land, and if the farmer was to pay a living wage
agriculture must be so reorganized that he could do so. The first
thing was the farmer must have security of tenure ; this he had
not had, and he had not been encouraged to get the best out of
the land. (Hear, hear.) There must be security of tenure for
the farmers, and although he was a Free Trader, he should be
in favour of the clause of the Corn Production Act being strength-
ened so that the farmer could pay the wage which might be fixed
from time to time. He did not suppose he should live to see it,
but he wanted the land nationalized. (Cheers.) He, however,
wanted to see the antiquated land laws repealed. Mr. Edwards

THE LABOUR PARTY 205

also touched upon the housing question, and remarked that if
Governments could find money for war they could find money
for houses. Proper medical attention must be put within the
reach of the poorest, and the National Insurance Act must be
radically altered, and there should be State paid medical attend-
ants. (Hear, hear.) He also advocated better wages for
teachers, who were the greatest moulders of character in the
country.

The campaign commenced in all earnestness. Meetings
were arranged throughout the constituency, but at this
time no other candidate was in the field. Mr. Soames,
the Liberal Member for the old .South Norfolk Division,
had informed the Liberal Party that he did not intend
to seek re-election, and it appeared for some days that
I was not going to have an opponent at all. But in due
course the two political parties combined to find an
opponent in the person of the Hon. W. H. Cozens-Hardy,
son of the late Lord Cozens-Hardy, and a most honourable
opponent he was. It soon became evident that, while
the fight would be fierce, it would be fought on clean
and honourable lines. We both decided that we would
fight on principles alone, and that we ourselves would
not indulge in personalities, nor would we allow any
of our supporters to do so. This we both carried out
to the very letter. On one occasion we occupied the
same pitch. I spoke for ten minutes first and he spoke
for the next ten minutes, which was the allotted time of
the meeting, it being held at the factory gates at the dinner
hour. This spirit was manifest right through the contest.
On the nomination day we both met in the Returning
Officer's room and had a very friendly chat and arranged
if possible to lunch together on the day of the poll at Diss.
This arrangement, however, I was unable to carry out,
as my motor failed me on my way and made me late.
There is one peculiar feature about this contest. My
opponent was the eldest son of the man, Mr. Herbert
Cozens-Hardy, for whom I had worked so strenuously
in 1885 as a Liberal and whom I had helped to win.

206 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

For doing so I had lost my situation, been turned out of
my house and, as stated before, had been compelled to
travel twelve miles a day to work as an agricultural
labourer.

During the contest I received valuable help from my
honorary agent, Mr. Edwin G. Gooch of Wymondham, a
well-known Norfolk journalist and now a Justice of the
Peace, a member of the County Council and other public
bodies and Hon. Secretary to the South Norfolk Divisional
Labour Party, who undertook the agency without promise
of any fee or reward. The women in Wymondham and
the men rendered magnificent work. All the envelopes
were addressed and the addresses folded voluntarily. The
local men supplied the platform with speakers. I also
had the assistance amongst other visitors of the Rev.
F. Softly from Fakenham and the Rev. Starling, and
amongst my most earnest local workers were Messrs.
W. J. Byles, J. Long, A. H. Cunnell, H. T. Phoenix.
A. V. Gooch, George Mayes and E. A. Beck. More than
passing interest was attached to the support I received
from the Earl of Kimberley. During the contest I
made my home with Mrs. J. Long at Wymondham, who
looked after me with great care. A few days before the
election I issued my address as follows : —

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

I am invited by the South Norfolk Divisional Labour
Party to contest the Division at the coming General Election,
and consider it my duty to accept the invitation in the interests
of Labour and Progressive Thought.

My full address will shortly be in your hands. Meanwhile
may I briefly state my policy ?

I stand for a League of Nations and reconstruction on sound
principles, without reverting to the old unjust social system of
pre-war days ; for a just and generous provision for the discharged
soldiers and sailors and their dependents, apart from either charity
or Poor Law ; for the prompt carrying through of a compre-
hensive national measure of housing and a national system of
education.

Full provision must be made for the reinstatement in civil

THE LABOUR PARTY 207

employment on demobilization at Trade Union rate of wages and
complete security against unemployment of all civil war-workers
about to be discharged, and those whom the dislocation of industry
will throw out of work. There must be a complete fulfilment
of the nation's pledges to Trade Unions.

The complete restoration of freedom of speech and political
action, with protection against victimization. The immediate
abolition of all forms of compulsory military service.

Adult suffrage and equal rights of voting for both sexes. The
immediate establishment of the fullest measure of Home Rule
for Ireland. Full national control of all means of transport,
and the retention by the State of all coal and iron mines, and
all the means of production, distribution and exchange.

The reorganization of agriculture and rural life in such a way
as shall secure to the agricultural labourer a living wage that
will lift him above the poverty line and the fear of penury and
want, but if this is to be done agriculture must be so reorganized
that it will secure to the farmer conditions that will enable him
to meet it. I therefore favour first the strengthening of the
clause in the Corn Production Act, and fixing the prices of his
produce at a figure that will enable him to pay a living wage for
his labour as fixed by the Wages Boards from time to time. I
am also in favour of so controlling the price of his feeding stuffs,
seeds, and raw material that will prevent the profiteer from
taking advantage of his needs in carrying on his industry. If
the land of this country is to be brought back into a proper state
of cultivation and be made to produce all the food it is capable
of, then the farmer must have absolute security of tenure. All
antiquated land laws must be abolished. There must also be
drastic reform in our Game Laws. There must be a drastic altera-
tion in the Small Holding and Allotment Acts. The small holder
must be able to get his holding on the same terms as the large
farmer. I am in favour of credit banks and a short credit system
to enable the holder and the farmer to pay ready money for their
goods.

The cruel and antiquated Poor Law must be abolished. A
pension should be given to the poor widow with a family. There
must be such a revision of pension rates and ages for eligibility
for old age pensions as would enable the recipients to live in
decency and comfort. A proper and adequate medical treatment
ought to be secured to the poor, which in my judgment could be
best obtained by a State medical service.

I appeal for your support on the grounds of the long public
service I have rendered to the people by my work on many public
authorities, especially during the last four years. Should you do
me the honour of returning me as your member I will continue

208 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

to work in this new sphere in the interests of the great toiling
masses to which I belong, and in whose interests all the best
years of my life have been given.

Yours faithfully,

GEORGE EDWARDS.
WYMONDHAM,
December 1918.

I had magnificent and most enthusiatic meetings all
through the campaign and had little or no opposition.
It was generally agreed that I had by far the best meetings.
I had, however, the whole force of the two political parties
against me, and some of the members of my own Church
in the Division were my bitterest opponents. But in
spite of the good reception I had an impression all through
the campaign that I was fighting a losing battle. I did
not, however, let anyone of my friends know what 1
thought of the matter, but braced them all up. The
only person I related my thoughts to was my dear niece,
who gave me all the encouragement she could and stood
by my side. The election took place on December 4th,
but we had to wait until December 28th before the votes
were counted. Directly after the election my niece
Mrs. Kernick and myself went back to our own little home
at Fakenham and anxiously waited for the day of the
count to arrive. When December 28th arrived we were
up early in the morning and made preparations to leavs
for Norwich where the votes were to be counted. We
left Fakenham by the 9.45 a.m. train and arrived at the
Shirehouse just after the counting had commenced. The
counting had not gone far before I realized that my fears
all during the contest were fulfilled and that, although
I had fought a good fight for the principles I held
to be good, I had been badly beaten and that the combined
forces of reaction were too much for me. At four o'clock
the counting was finished and the result was as follows :—

W. H. Cozens-Hardy 1 1,755

G. Edwards 6,596

Coalition majority 5,159

THE LABOUR PARTY 209

After the declaration of the poll my friends and I re-
turned to Wymondham and made for the Fairland Hall,
which was packed. The meeting was of such a character
as had never been held there before within the memory
of man. It was attended by the leaders of all political
parties ; the Rev. E. Russell was in the chair. On one
side of him was the victorious candidate and on the other
side of him was myself, the defeated candidate. A
resolution of congratulation was moved to the member,
which I supported. A resolution was moved and carried
thanking both candidates and the leaders of both parties
for the clean and friendly fight we had made, neither
candidate ever having said an unkind word towards each
other, and it was expressed by both sides that we had
lifted the political life of South Norfolk on to a high
level. Thus we finished, as we had commenced, in a
most friendly spirit. That election of 1918 in South
Norfolk will rank as the cleanest and purest political
fight that was ever fought.

The meeting being over, I returned to my home at
Fakenham, no one knowing but my niece the effect it
had had on me. No one knew the strain it was upon me to
attend that meeting, but I intended to be brave and manly.
It had made its mark which was soon to make itself
manifest. As soon as possible I sent the following letter
of thanks to all my supporters and voluntary workers : —

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION, DECEMBER 1918.
To the Labour Party Workers in South Norfolk.

DEAR SIR OR MADAM,

I embrace this opportunity of thanking you for the
valuable help you rendered me during the recent election.

No candidate ever had a band of more loyal supporters, and
I trust your great devotion to the Party will be recompensed by
victory in the days that are to come. The ideals for which we
stand are of the highest, but the forces of reaction were too strong
for us this time. The time will come, however, when democracy
will assert itself and the principles of righteousness and truth,
for which we stand, will yet triumph.

14

210 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

My one hope is that you will go forth with renewed vigour,
organize your forces, exercise patience and sweet reasonableness.
I hope to live to see South Norfolk go solid for Labour.

Again thanking you for your support, and with best wishes
for the New Year,

I am,

Yours faithfully.

GEORGE EDWARDS.
7 Lichfield Street,

Queen's Road, Fakenham,
January 1919.

As days went by my life told its tale upon me. I
tried to be brave. I even endeavoured to hide my trouble
from my niece, but her keen eye and affection and deep
sympathy for me detected it and she feared the worst.
But no one knew my pain outside of my home. I had,
however, one little brightness brought into my life in
this time of sorrow. In December I received a notice
from the Secretary of State that the Prime Minister had
recommended me to the King for the distinction of the
Grand Order of the British Empire, known as the O.B.E.
On January 3rd I was gazetted as O.B.E., and my name
appeared among the list of Honours. In due course I
received a command from the Lord Chamberlain to
appear at Buckingham Palace in February to receive
the decoration at the hands of the King. My niece
feared that I should not be able to stand the journey.
I also had my doubts. I took her with me. Within
a few hours, however, after I left the Palace I broke
down. My strength would hold out no longer and I
had to keep in bed at the hotel where I was staying
for a few days. I was, however, determined to get
to my own home and took the risk and travelled
home to Fakenham. On my return home I went to
bed. The doctor was sent for and he considered I
was in a very weak state. But with his skill and
the good nursing of my niece I was able to get about
again within a month, but was not allowed to do any

THE LABOUR PARTY 211

public work for some time. But as the spring came
along I grew stronger and was enabled to resume my
public work, and late in the summer of 1919 the South
Norfolk Divisional Labour Party sent me an invita-
tion to contest the Division again in the Labour interest,
as there was a rumour that the member's father, Lord
Cozens-Hardy, was very ill and could not live long, and
in that case there would have to be a bye-election since
the member would be raised to the Peerage. I gave the
matter very serious consideration. I consulted my
doctor, and he considered it would be absolutely unsafe
for me to undertake another parliamentary contest.
I had already fresh local duties, for in the spring I was
elected on the Fakenham Parish Council and was elected
its chairman, and, further, not being able to accomplish
my desire in 1918, namely to finish my life's work in
the House of Commons, I had no further desire to enter
Parliament, but was anxious to finish my life's work in
doing local work. I therefore decided not to accept
the invitation, but to leave that part of public work
to younger men, and on September 23, 1919, I wrote
declining the invitation in a letter to Mr. Gooch, the
Party's honorary agent.

During the autumn of 1919 I addressed several meetings
for the Union, and also devoted much time to local public
work, the duties of which increased rapidly. My health
improved and I gained a good deal of strength. The
condition of my heart, however, caused the doctor a good
deal of anxiety. The Divisional Labour Party decided
that they would not let the seat go uncontested, and at
a special meeting of the Party on May 29, 1920, passed
a resolution asking the Labourers' Union again to find
a candidate to contest the Division whenever the election
took place. The Union had already taken a ballot for
candidates for the next General Elction. Accordingly
they sent Mr. W. Holmes down to meet the Divisional
Party. The Party had also asked for other nominations

212 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

besides asking the Union for a candidate, and the follow-
ing persons were nominated : Mr. W. B. Taylor, Mr.
T. G. Higdon, Mr. William G. Codling, and Mr. E. G.
Gooch. Mr. Codling did not attend, and Mr. Gooch with-
drew. Each of the other nominees addressed the dele-
gates. I presided over the meeting. After each one of
the men had given their views and been closely ques-
tioned, they were asked to retire, and, on the vote being
taken, Mr. Taylor received 40 votes, Mr. Holmes 16,
Mr. Higdon I. Mr. Taylor was declared elected and,
after a vote had been passed to me for presiding and Mr.
Taylor had been finally endorsed, the meeting separated.
Mr. Taylor at once commenced a campaign, and a sub-
scription list was opened. He not being the Union's
official candidate, the Union had no financial liability ;
in fact, they could not contribute to his fund. He made
good progress, however, and the agent succeeded in
raising several pounds, and I think if there had been
no by-election by the time the General Election came
they would have raised a very considerable sum. But
Lord Cozens-Hardy died in June and a by-election had
to take place. This found the Party altogether unpre-
pared for the fight. A special meeting of the Party was
called, and they decided to withdraw from the election
and concentrate on the General Election. The other two
political parties had selected their candidates. Mr. C. H.
Roberts was standing for the Independent Liberals, and
Mr. J. H. Batty was standing for the Coalition-Liberals,
and both candidates had got their campaigns in full swing.
The Liberal candidate was delighted at the withdrawal,
and predicted that he would win. There was, however,
a class of people who were not at all pleased at Labour
not fighting, and they showed their displeasure by
writing to the Executive of the Labourers' Union and
demanding that they should put a candidate of their
own into the field, threatening that if they did not they
would leave the Union. The Executive decided to call

THE LABOUR PARTY 213

a conference of delegates from every branch of the Union
in the Division at Wymondhara. The Norfolk members
of the Executive with the President attended the
conference with power to act. They also decided to
invite the Executive of the Divisional Labour Party
to attend. The meeting was held in the Labour
Institute. Every branch of the Union in the Division
was represented. The President, in a lengthy speech,
pointed out the difficulties, considering that the contest
had already commenced and the writ been issued,
and he invited the delegates to express their views.
With one voice they requested that the Union should
put a candidate into the field, many of the delegates
declaring that, if we did not contest, their members
would leave the Union. They were also unanimous in
their view that the seat could be won for Labour. A
resolution was moved that the Union be requested to put
a candidate into the field and that the Executive of the
Divisional Labour Party be invited to co-operate. This
was carried with the greatest enthusiasm, everyone
standing and cheering to the echo. Then the question
was asked by the President who was to be the man, and
the delegates at once said there was only one man that
could fight and win, and that was " their George " (as
they were so fond of calling me and as I like that they
should). I pointed out to them my age and my weak-
ness, which they would find a disadvantage to them in
the contest. They said they would be prepared to meet
that if I would but consent to stand, for with me they
were sure they could win, and further, they would do
all the work, and I should have nothing to trouble me
but to speak at the meetings. With this promise I
replied that if they could win the seat for Labour with
me as their candidate, then I was at their service. This
was received with loud cheering. All the ladies present
volunteered at once for work in connection with issuing my
address, etc. Mr. W. B .Taylor, J.P., C,C., who had retired

214 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

from the contest, at once volunteered to render all the
help he could and promised to enter the fight with the
same enthusiasm as if he had been the candidate. Mr.
Edwin Gooch promised to undertake the honorary agency
as before, and my dear friend, the President of the Union,
Mr. W. R. Smith, who I am so fond of calling " My Boy,"
undertook to throw all his influence into the contest by
addressing meetings and looking after me at the meetings
and not allowing me to overtax my strength.

The press had got a hint that, after all, Labour was
not going to let the seat go by default and that a meeting
was being held for that purpose. They had, therefore,
got their reporters to gather up the first information of
what had taken place. But the public had not the
slightest idea previously who would be the candidate,
and were taken by surprise. The news was flashed over
the wires to the furthest parts of the country. On the
Monday morning the papers had great headlines : " George
Edwards enters the Fight." Leading articles were written
on the matter, all agreeing that I was the strongest local
candidate Labour could bring into the field, and it became
evident at once that there would be the greatest interest
taken in the contest. It also created a great surprise in
the camps of the two opposing political parties. After
the conference was over I journeyed to Stow Bedon to
attend a demonstration in connection with the Agricul-
tural Labourers' Union at which I had been announced
to speak. Here I made my first election speech, as we
naturally turned this to some political account. The
chairman, Mr. H. T. Phoenix, announced that I had that
day been adopted as the Labour candidate. I was accom-
panied to this meeting by Mr. and Mrs. Gooch and a
whole host of Wymondham friends. Mr. W. B. Taylor
and the Rev. P. S. Garden, the esteemed minister of the
Scott Memorial Church, Norwich, also spoke at this
meeting. The meeting was most enthusiastic. After the
meeting was over I journeyed back to Wymondham and

THE LABOUR PARTY 215

again made my home at Mr. and Mrs. Long's. Although
the next day was Sunday, we were compelled to devote
a large part of it to making arrangements. The election
had already been in progress for over a week. We had
therefore much ground to make up. A plan of cam-
paign was mapped out and all arrangements made to
commence the campaign the next day. My address was
got ready to print the next day, and by the Tuesday it
was published. On the Monday we opened the campaign
at Hethersett and Little Melton. I had with me Mr.
G. E. Hewitt, Mr. Long and Mr. E. A. Beck. Although
the meetings were only announced that morning they
were crowded and most enthusiastic. For some unaccount-
able reason I had a clear vision from the very first that
we should win and I never lost heart, which was so different
to the General Election. The Liberals grew very angry
at my appearance on the scene, as they said I could not
possibly win and that I should let the Coalition candidate
in. We pushed on, however, with great vigour. Helpers
came forward in great numbers. The Earl of Kimberley
again came forward as he had done at the General Election
and helped in every way possible, rendering most valuable
service during the contest. My address caused a great
deal of discussion, as it embraced the entire programme
of the Party. It was as follows : —

SOUTH NORFOLK PARLIAMENTARY BYE-ELECTION.

TUESDAY, JULY 27x11, 1920.

To the Electors.

LADIES AND GBLTLEMEN,

Owing to the lamented death of Lord Cozens-Hardy
and the elevation of the Hon. W. H. Cozens-Hardy to the Peerage,
a vacancy has occurred in this Division. At the unanimous
request of the branches of the National Agricultural Labourers'
Union in South Norfolk, endorsed by the Divisional and National
Labour Parties, I have consented to stand as Labour candidate
for the Division and have pleasure in submitting the following
statements of my principles and policy.

216 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT AND HIGH PRICES.
Although the Government has been in office for more than
eighteen months nothing has been done to reduce the cost of
living, which presses so hardly on all classes of the population.
Every housewife knows prices still tend in an upward direction.
The only policy likely to affect prices is the Labour policy of a
strict limitation of profits, stringent control and nationalization.
I strongly condemn the policy of waste of the present Government.

NATIONAL FINANCE.

The war having left a huge burden of debt on the country
amounting to over 8,000 million pounds, it will be easily recog-
nized that this constitutes a terrible menace to the trade of the
country and to the earning capacity in real wages of the workers.
I advocate a levy of the fortunes of the wealthy people in pre-
ference to the taxing of the food and other necessities of the
workers. Those who have made huge profits out of the sorrow
and suffering of war should be compelled to disgorge this wealth,
and so relieve the nation of a burden which will otherwise be too
heavy to sustain.

MINES, RAILWAYS, ETC.

I shall support all reasonable efforts to secure for the nation
the public ownership of all key services, such as mines, railways,
canals, shipping, transport and the supply of power.

FOREIGN POLICY.

The foreign policy of the Government stands condemned. I
favour the establishment of a league of free peoples, peace with
Russia, open diplomacy and self-determination for all nations,
including Ireland.

AGRICULTURE.

The Labour Party's policy for agriculture is based upon the
national ownership of land. Agriculture must become the first
consideration of the State. A standard living wage, a statutory
working week, and the abolition of the tied cottage would enable
the land worker to enjoy equally with other workers opportunities
for individual recreation and development. Land for small hold-
ings must be obtained easily and cheaply, and co-operation
amongst small holders assisted and developed.

SECURITY OF TENURE.

If the land is to be brought back into a proper state of culti-
vation and be made to produce all the food it is capable of, then

THE LABOUR PARTY 217

the farmer must have security of tenure. I should, however,
insist on proper cultivation of land and the employment of a
sufficient number of efficient labourers to do so. In order to
enforce this I should place even more drastic power in the hands
of the Agricultural Councils than they now possess.

ELEVATION OF WOMANHOOD.

I am in favour of the immediate establishment of a pensions
scheme for all widows with dependent children ; the endowment
of motherhood and the extension of the franchise to women as
it is or may be granted to men.

HOUSING QUESTION.

The prompt carrying through of a comprehensive national
measure of housing, the local authorities being everywhere required
to make good the whole of the existing shortage in well-planned,
well-built, commodious and healthy homes for the entire popula-
tion, assisted by National Exchequer grants sufficient in amount
to prevent any charge falling on the local rates.

UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE RIGHT TO WORK.
I should use every endeavour to secure the right to work for
all. Industry must be organized to provide for opportunities of
service for all. Failing such a system full maintenance must be
guaranteed by the State. I favour drastic amendments to the
Insurance Acts.

EX-SERVICE MEN.

The Government have treated the sailors and soldiers and their
dependants with meanness. The Labour Party is pledged to just
and generous treatment to all ex-service men with regard to
pensions, medical and surgical treatment, reinstatement in civil
employment at Trade Union rates of wages, and complete security
against involuntary unemployment. Owing to the rising cost of
living I should press for an immediate increase on present pension
rates.

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

There must be such a revision of pension rates and ages for
eligibility for old age pensions as would enable the recipients to
live in decency and comfort.

CONCLUSION.

I appeal, as a Norfolk man, for your support on the grounds
of the long public service I have rendered to the people by my

2i8 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

work on many public authorities, especially during the last five
years. Should you do me the honour of returning me as your
member I will continue to work in this new sphere in the interests
of the great toiling masses to which I belong, and in whose
interests all the best years of my life have been given.
Yours very sincerely,

GEORGE EDWARDS.
WYMONDHAM,

July 1920.

P.S.— I cannot hope to get round before polling day to every
town and village, but I do beg every working man and woman
to go to the poll and vote against the waste of the Government
and the high cost of living. It is the only lesson to which they
will listen.

I kept to my programme all through the campaign.
One amusing tribute was paid to me at one of my
opponent's (Mr. Batty's) meetings by one of his sup-
porters, Major Kennedy, who said I was as good a fellow
as ever walked. But he was anxious about me for, if
I was elected, I should feel so out of place having to wear
a frock coat and silk top hat. Another amusing thing
happened. One of the lady canvassers for my opponent,
anxious to enhance the cause of her candidate, said 1
was a dear old man, but it would be cruel to send me to
Parliament at my age. All this, however, although not
intended, was to my interest and, as the election day
drew near, our people became more enthusiastic and my
opponents began to realize that they had not got so easy
a job as they had anticipated. The Independent Liberals
kept encouraging their supporters by declaring they were
sure they were winning ; in fact, the night before the
poll one of their speakers declared at Watton that they
had won. They counted their chickens before they were
hatched. The night before the poll our meetings were
attended by hundreds and speakers flocked to our plat-
form. At Attleborough we had Mr. J. Mills, M.P., and
other local speakers. Mr. W. S. Royce, M.P., Lord
Kimberley and Mr. Smith, M.P., were at Wymondham,

THE LABOUR PARTY 219

and held the fort until I arrived. My old friend and
constant companion during the contest, Mr. G. E. Hewitt,
J.P., C.C., accompanied me to my meetings. I spoke
with him at three meetings. We made our way to
Great Hockham and addressed a large meeting there, and
then on to Attleborough, where we met with a tremendous
reception. In this place at the General Election I could
scarcely get a hearing.

My opponent, Mr. Batty, was also holding a meeting
at the same place, but out of respect for me, on my arrival
he adjourned his meeting until I had spoken and left
the meeting and came and stood amongst my audience.
Having spoken there I made my way to Wymondham.
On arriving at the town I was met by the band of the
Discharged Soldiers' and Sailors' Federation and a large
number of my supporters, who played me up to the
Fairland, the place of meeting, where there were upwards
of 1,500 people waiting to receive me, and I was given a
wonderful reception.

On the polling day my agent, Mr. Gooch, Mr. W. B.
Taylor and I set out for a tour through the constituency.
All went well until we arrived at Shotesham Common,
when the motor broke down. Here we had to wait at
this lonely spot for three hours until another motor
arrived, when we renewed our journey. Everywhere we
went we were received with the greatest enthusiasm.
We found our colour (green) most prominent. That was
the colour I had adopted, being the colour of the Union.
On our return to Wymondham we were met by crowds.
We found the Earl of Kimberley hard at work with his
motor gaily trimmed with our colour. He had also put
two waggons on the road to fetch up distant voters. Mr.
Royce, M.P., had lent us his motor, which rendered us
splendid service. At the close of the poll our people
were confident we had won. They assembled at the
Labour Institute, where a most enthusiastic meeting was
held. The next day I returned to my home to wait

220 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

patiently until August gth, when the votes were to be
counted. I was confident, however, that we had won.
The whole contest was most pleasant. Everyone seemed
so confident and worked with such good will and hope.
I look back to this contest with the most pleasant
memories. I am afraid there was a good deal of betting
about the result, not amongst my supporters, but amongst
the outside people.

CHAPTER XVIII
PARLIAMENT

THE votes were counted at the Storehouse, Norwich,
on Monday August Qth. My niece and I were early astir
and we decorated ourselves with the party colour. My
neighbour presented me with a little toy black cat for luck.
Another sent me a small horseshoe.

On arriving at the Shirehouse I found my agent and
my close friend, Mr. W. R. Smith, all smiles and in close
conversation, as the counting had been proceeding some
time before my arrival. One of the other candidates had
arrived before me, Mr. C. H. Roberts with Lady Roberts.
Soon after my arrival the other candidate, Mr. Batty,
arrived, and we three gave each other the usual friendly
greeting. By a quarter to one it was evident I was well
ahead and that it was not possible that either of the
other candidates could win. About a quarter to two the
counting was completed and the High Sheriff announced
the figures.

It will be seen by the figures that Mr. Batty, the Co.-
Liberal, did not receive as many votes by sixty as I did at
the General Election. Thus there was a great turnover in
public opinion against the Government, for if you add
Mr. Roberts' total to mine, it makes a majority of over
five thousand against the Government. After the figures
were given the High Sheriff announced them outside, and
there was a cheer from my supporters whom I briefly
thanked.

222 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

The figures were as follows : —

George Edwards 8,594

J. H. Batty (Co.-Lib.) 6,476

C. H. Roberts (Free Lib.) 3,718

Labour majority 2, 1 18

The following is a press report of the speeches after the
declaration : —

The customary vote of thanks was moved inside the Council
Chamber by Mr. Edwards. He spoke of the Acting Returning
Officer as a most impartial, kind, and painstaking officer. Aa
for my opponents, he went on, we have had a most pleasant con-
test. I do not think any one of the three has said a word or
done anything that he would have to regret. When the General
Election comes Labour cannot wish to have more honourable
opponents than it has met on this occasion. This victory that
we have secured is not a personal victory. It has been won by
a noble band of men and women who have done their best to
win success for the principles they hold dear. I shall be loyal
to the principles that these noble men and women have fought for.

Mr. Batty seconded the motion. They were all most grateful
to the Returning Officer and his staff, and they hoped for Mr.
Edwards' sake it might be a long time before there was another
election in South Norfolk. He added : It was a personal pleasure
to me to be able to congratulate Mr. Edwards. It was not until
this morning that I had the pleasure of shaking his hand. I
cannot but feel that in some respects Mr. Edwards' opinion is
not quite correct. I am inclined to think that the result is some-
what of a personal tribute to his lifelong work in the constituency.
I congratulate him, and I am sure my friend Mr. Roberts joins
with me in this respect on his thus receiving the crown of his
life's work, and I hope he may be spared long to enjoy it.

Mr. Roberts, in supporting the motion, said he agreed with
Mr. Edwards that the contest had been fought fairly and with-
out bitterness. He gladly took the opportunity of offering Mr.
Edwards his personal congratulations. The result of the election
must be a satisfaction to Mr. Edwards, not only because it meant
a victory for his principles, but because it was a mark of the
esteem and confidence of his friends and neighbours.

The Acting Returning Officer made a brief reply.

PARLIAMENT 223

In the course of a press interview after the declaration
I said : —

Labour has won a splendid victory. I do not look upon this
result as a personal tribute, but as a victory for Labour princi-
ples, and a warning to the Government to clear out and make
room for those who will run the country better. This is practi-
cally the first agricultural constituency in England to return a
Labour member to Parliament, and I shall be the second bona,
fide agricultural representative to sit in the House. The first
was Joe Arch, with whom I worked in the old days.

After the poll was declared I returned to Wymondham,
where I found a large number of telegrams awaiting me, and
at seven o'clock a large number gathered at the Fairland
Hall to hold a congratulation meeting. I returned home
to Fakenham in the morning, where I found another large
batch of telegrams waiting. I also received numbers of
letters of congratulation, many of them from my political
opponents.

On Tuesday August nth I attended the funeral of the
late Mr. Bancroft Holmes (Chairman of the Norfolk County
Council) who a few days before had died in my presence
at Holkham Hall when attending an Advisory Committee
for the nomination of magistrates for the County of Norfolk,
of which we were both members. My niece and I both
returned to Wymondham that night in readiness to proceed
to London the next day for me to take my seat.

On Wednesday morning we were early astir ready for
our journey. From the Monday to the Wednesday morning
I had not really realized that I was actually a Member
of Parliament. It was brought home to me, however,
when I had to get ready to proceed to London, and then,
strange as it may seem, instead of my being full of joy,
I actually broke down with the deepest emotion. I
cannot account for it, but it was so, and the first words
that I could utter were a desire that my poor dear wife
could know. I also offered a fervent prayer that God

224 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

would keep me humble and that I might always remain
the same George Edwards, the agricultural labourer.
This might appear to be approaching very near to
cant, but it was sincere and I have tried to live it
out.

A little band left Wymondham by the 9 a.m. train.
I was accompanied by my faithful agent Mr. Gooch and
Mrs. Gooch, Mr. W. B. Taylor, Mr. J. Smith (Secretary
of the Wymondham Local Labour Party) and Mrs. Smith
and my niece, Mrs. Kernick. We arrived at Liverpool
Street Station a little after 12 a.m. and were due at
the House of Commons at two o'clock. At the House
we found Mr. W. R. Smith waiting for us in the outer
lobby, but before we reached the House we were caught
by several camera men. Tickets for the gallery had been
secured by Mr. Smith for my friends to enable them to
witness me walk up the House and take the oath.
Punctually at a quarter to four, after question time,
the Speaker asked the usual question on these occasions —
if there were any new members desirous of taking their
seats ? Then came the ordeal. Accompanied by Mr.
Smith and the late Mr. Tyson Wilson, who was Chief Whip
of the Labour Party at the time, I walked up to the clerk's
table and took the oath and signed the Roll Book and shook
hands with the Speaker and then took my seat amidst
the cheers of my friends, one singing " The Farmer's Boy."
My friend Mr. Smith said it was the proudest day of his
life when he conducted me up the House. Such is the
close friendship that exists between us.

A peculiar incident happened when I signed the book.
In my nervousness I had one of my feet lifted up, and the
Premier, Mr. Lloyd George, unconsciously put his foot
underneath mine, and when I placed my foot down I
put it on to his. I have since joked him concerning the
incident several times.

After a few minutes my friends and I went down on to
the terrace and had tea, and the first to come and

PARLIAMENT 225

congratulate me was my first opponent, Lord Cozeiis-
Hardy.

I stayed in London until the Friday when I returned
to Wymondham. On the Saturday I went to Norwich
and attended to my County Council Committee work,
where I received most hearty congratulations from my
colleagues on the Council. But a greater surprise was
awaiting me on my return to Fakenham in the evening.
Arriving at the Great Eastern Station by the quarter to
eight train I found waiting for me a large number of my
fellow townsmen of all shades of political thought, the
Fakenham Town Band and a conveyance to take me to
the Market Square. This was drawn by hand. I was
practically lifted into the conveyance and by my side was
my little adopted child. The band headed the procession
and played " See the Conquering Hero Comes." The
streets were lined with spectators and when the Market
Square was reached there were crowds waiting to give me
a reception. It was considered that there were over two
thousand people present. The conveyance was drawn into
the square and a congratulation speech was made by my
friend Mr. Robert Watson. Mr. Walker of the Printers'
Union presided and addresses were also given by
Mr. H. Allen and others. I thanked the people for the
kind reception they had given me, which was the greatest
joy of my life, to receive such a welcome by my neighbours
in my own native town. A full report of the affair was
given in the Eastern Daily Press on the Monday with some
very nice comments. The report was headed " The Warrior's
Return."

The House adjourned on Monday August i6th and I
settled down for my well-earned rest, but the request
from the Christian Churches to conduct special religious
services was greater than I could possibly comply with.
As soon as harvest operations were completed and I had
had a nice rest I took a tour through my constituency and
thanked my supporters for the support they had given to

15

226 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the noble cause of Labour. I was received everywhere
with the greatest kindness and enthusiasm.

On October igth the House reassembled for the Autumn
Session, and I returned to London to attend to my duties,
and on October 2ist there was a debate on the unemploy-
ment question. I followed the Minister of Labour and made
my maiden speech as follows :—

I have listened very attentively to the speech of the right hon.
gentleman. I am not so much concerned with the description
he gave us of the state of unemployment as I am with the fact
that there are unemployed and a lack of provision made for them
to find employment — especially among ex-service men. I find
that my right hon. friend is very anxious to lay the responsibility
for the unemployment and the lack of provision for the unem-
ployed upon everyone except the Government. He dealt with
the housing question, and he made a great point of the fact that
housing is being delayed in consequence of the conduct of the
Trade Unionists in the building industry. But he did not tell
the House that the Trade Union workers in the trade offered
that if the Government will guarantee there shall be no unem-
ployed in their trade they will remove the restrictions of which
he complains. The point I want to come to is this — the delay
in erecting houses for ex-service men and for the working class
in this country lies at the door of the Government. What are
the facts ? I speak with some knowledge. The Minister of
Health, or the Government through him, pressed on the local
authorities the responsibility of providing houses under the Act,
and I say without hesitation that the local authorities — and all
credit is due to them — undertook that responsibility. It has
become notorious how their action has been defeated. Take my
own area.

We decided to erect 350 houses. We prepared our plans and
put out our contracts. We erected a number of houses for the
working classes. We were told by the Government that in
deciding on the rents we were to fix such a rent as we deemed
reasonable according to wages earned in the district. We fixed
the rents, as some of us think, rather too high. We had full
local knowledge. We said that for a six-roomed house the rent
should be £20 per year, with the rates on top of that, and for a
five-roomed house £14 per year, plus rates. What did the
Minister of Health do ? We sent him a return showing that the
earnings of the agricultural labourers in the district averaged
£2 6s. per week, and those of other classes of workers £3 los. per

PARLIAMENT 227

week. The Minister came down on top of us and would not
sanction the rents we had fixed. He demanded that the local
authority should charge a man earning ^3 IDS. per week £i per
week as rent, and that for the five-roomed house i6s. 6d. per
week should be charged. Do the Government imagine that any
local authority, with its knowledge of the condition of things,
would be content to erect houses and to ask agricultural labourers
with their wives and families to pay a rent of i6s. 6d. per week
out of a wage of £2 6s. ? Do they imagine that any local authority
will erect houses for which they are to charge a man earning
^3 los. per week £i as rent ? Do they imagine that out of the
wages they are earning the men could pay such high rents as
that ? If they do, I can only suggest they should experiment
on themselves for one month at least. This bombshell was thrown
at the local authorities throughout the length and breadth of
the country, with the result that they will not touch housing
schemes until the Minister of Health abates his demands in this
respect. I maintain that the responsibility for the delay in
erecting houses falls directly upon the Government, but for whose
action house-building might have been proceeded with, and the
present unemployment would not have grown to the extent it has.
Then there is the question of raw material. The Government
were warned in 1918 — in the early part of that year — that there
would be a terrible shortage of raw material and especially of
bricks. Labour Exchanges sent resolution after resolution urging
the Government to take steps to reopen the brickfields which
had gone into disuse during the war. We were laughed at for
our efforts in pointing out that there must be a terrible shortage
unless something in this direction was done. Remember, the
unskilled men now waiting for training might have been put on
this work, and the necessary raw material could have been pro-
vided without difficulty. What happened ? Those local authorities
which had contracts in hand found that the men had to stand
idle for the lack of raw material. I was very much interested
in a speech made by the Minister of Health in regard to the agri-
cultural industry. I have a knowledge of this industry. I was
engaged in it for many years, and I remember the time when there
were 950,000 agricultural labourers and others employed on the
land. At the present time there are only 550,000 so employed,
and yet we have in my own county to-day 500 agricultural
labourers standing by for want of work ! I heard a question asked
of the Minister of Health why this was so. I think I can give
the reply. It is largely due to the gambling which is now going
on in land. It is also due, in part, to the bad farming which has
been prevalent for many years. That is responsible for the great
decrease in the number of men employed on the land. We ask

228 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

the Government, as far as the land question is concerned, to do
what they did during the war, namely to put into force the
compulsory clauses of the Defence of the Realm Act. We have
to-day, I believe, between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 acres of land
out of cultivation. We were told the other day that there were
800,000 acres less under wheat this year, and I believe I am correct
in saying that since the Armistice 80,000 acres of land have gone
out of cultivation that were brought under cultivation during the
war. Why do not the Government put into force the compulsory
clauses, and compel those who call the land theirs to keep it in
cultivation ? Something has been said about afforestation. In
my own county we have something like 3,000 acres of land that
is useful for that purpose. I do not say, with my knowledge of
agriculture, that all the land is suitable for producing food ; I
know it is not ; but it will produce something that the nation
wants. That land is now lying derelict. It is only used as rabbit
warrens, because it pays the landlord better to keep it for game
preserving than it does to produce things that we want. If the
Government would step in, and I appeal to them to do so, they
could at once set to work most of this unskilled labour — we are
told that it would require no skill — if they would insist upon the
use of this land for this purpose. I know that it is suitable for
the production of wood, which is greatly needed.

The Government were forewarned of these things. They
know that this land is there ready to produce something. Indeed,
I would venture to state that there is not an acre of land in this
country which does not produce something that the nation needs.
All that is necessary is that the people should have an opportunity
of getting on the land. With regard to the Land Settlement
scheme, as a County Councillor I have had something to do with
putting this Act into force. What are the facts ? We were told
that there were £8,000,000 set aside for this purpose. So far as
my County Council is concerned — and I think we stand second
in the country for putting the Small Holdings and Allotments
Act into force — we were told that we were to have this money
to purchase land. What does the Land Settlement Act do ? It
compels us to give inflated prices for the land, and, having given
inflated prices — not pre-war value, but war-profit value, the price
to which it has been run up in the market by the land gamblers
— we are compelled to charge these ex-service men, these heroes
who have fought our battles, and who were told by the Prime
Minister that they should have a land fit for heroes to live in,
where no inhabitants should ever hunger — we have to charge
them a rent that we know full well they will never be able to pay
and get a living. The Government come along and say : " Yes,
we will lend you money, but will charge you 6 per cent, for it,"

PARLIAMENT 229

and we have to charge that back to these poor fellows. In my
own county we have 500 ex-service men who cannot get on the
land, and we have spent all the money the Government will let
us have. I would make an appeal to the right hon. gentleman
opposite and to the Government to take this question seriously.
I have spent fifty years of my life trying to upraise my class. I
have endeavoured to exercise a moderating influence, and I think
that up to the present I have been successful. No one can charge
me with being an extremist. I want, however, to point this out
to the Government. Our influence over men and women may be
lessened when they know that the barns are full and the cup-
board is empty. Therefore I ask them to use all the powers
they possess under the Defence of the Realm Act and to deal
at once with this land problem. It can be dealt with at once.
Set these men to work. We do not plead for doles ; we do not
plead for charity. What we say is : "In Heaven's name, find
them work ! "

During the Autumn Session I never left the House nor
missed a Division. In the middle of November the
Agricultural Bill was brought before the House on its
report stage. This received my whole-hearted support in
all its stages and I spoke several times when it was before
the House. With my friends Mr. Royce and Mr. Smith
I tried to improve it by moving new clauses from the point
of view of giving the labourer who lived in a tied cottage
some security in his home and, after several interviews with
Sir Arthur Boscawen, the Minister who had charge of the
Bill, we were able to make a little improvement by securing
to the labourers compensation in the shape of a year's
rent and expenses of removal if compelled to leave his
cottage at short notice. We also secured to the tenant
farmer some security of tenure or compensation for
disturbance and we also secured a minmum price for his
corn and the re-establishment of the Wage Board for four
years, which alas ! was so soon to be abolished by the repeal
of the Agricultural Act of 1921.

During the passage of the Agricultural Act we had
many late nights. The last days of the sitting, December
20th and 2ist, I never left the House for thirty-six hours

230 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

and went into the Division Lobby nearly thirty times against
the Lords Admendments. This concluded my first experi-
ence of the House of Commons.

Soon after my entrance into Parliament I was asked to
become a member of the Industrial Christian Fellowship,
an association established by leaders of the Church of
England for the purpose of bringing our industrial system
more into harmony with the principles taught by Christ
Himself and further of endeavouring to create a higher
spiritual life in the great Labour movement and preventing
it from becoming too materialistic. As that had been my
ideal all through my long public life, it at once appealed
to me, and I decided to accept the invitation to become
a member of the General Council. The first meeting I
attended and addressed was at Hull. Before going,
however, I expressed a wish to meet members of the Trades
and Labour Council. A meeting was arranged and I found
there was a suspicion amongst the Trade Unionists in the
city that there was some ulterior motive behind it. I
endeavoured to dispel this suspicion. My address was
entitled " The High Ideals of the Labour Movement."
The large hall was full and the Mayor presided.

In November of the same year (1920) I received an
invitation from Canon Newson to give an address in
Newcastle-on-Tyne Cathedral on December 5th. I accepted
the invitation and at Newcastle was met at the station by
Canon Newson with whom I stayed the week-end. During
the afternoon I was introduced to the Bishop with whom
I had a long talk on the religious aspect of the movement.
In the evening I met members of the Trades and Labour
Council at the Canon's House. On Sunday afternoon
I gave my address on " Religion and Labour " in the
cathedral.

This address was listened to with marked attention
by a large congregation. The fact that a layman and a
prominent Nonconformist had been invited to give an

PARLIAMENT 231

address in a cathedral had created widespread interest.
Many of the daily papers gave a long report of my address.
Since then I have spoken in two churches in London on
" National Righteousness." This I think is a sign that
there is a great awakening in the social consciousness of
the people and that a spirit of fellowship and goodwill
is abroad such as has never been manifested before. I
consider that I have never been connected with a movement
that was calculated to bring our industrial and social
life on to a higher platform and I wish it God-speed in
its good work.

In February 1921 I was invited by His Majesty the
King to an afternoon garden party at Buckingham
Palace, and on my being introduced to the King and His
Majesty ascertaining that I came from Norfolk, he expressed
a wish to have a few minutes' talk with me. His Majesty
asked me concerning my early life, also the condition of
the people in Norfolk. The matter was given publicity
through the press and the following appeared in one
paper :—

By invitation of their Majesties the King and Queen, Mr.
{ieorge Edwards, M.P., attended the afternoon party at Bucking-
ham Palace last Thursday. Mr. Edwards had the honour of
being presented to their Majesties, and during the afternoon the
King expressed a wish to have some further conversation with
the member for South Norfolk, to whom His Majesty directed
inquiries respecting his early days. The King evinced deep
interest in the story Mr. Edwards told, and later the Queen also
invited the member to relate to her the story of his early struggles.

After cordially greeting Mr. Edwards, the King said he was
interested to know that he came from Norfolk, and inquired if
the member was a native of this county. His Majesty also
inquired what occupation Mr. Edwards' father followed.

The remarkable story of the member's progress from work-
house to Westminster greatly interested the King, who plied Mr.
Edwards with questions relative to his early life.

Mr. Edwards told His Majesty that he was a native of Norfolk,
and that his father, like himself, was an agricultural labourer.
" At the time of my birth," said Mr. Edwards, " the wages of
the agricultural labourer were 8s. a week, and at the time of the

232 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Crimean \Var in 1854 the cost of living rose to its highest, but
the wages of the labourer remained stationary."

" And how did you fare ? " inquired the King.

" My father and mother had to undergo the greatest priva-
tions," Mr. Edwards replied. " We never had bread enough and
the family were fed largely on turnips which my father brought
from his master's field. At five years of age I was a workhouse
boy."

" And this was really the way you lived ? " exclaimed the King.

His Majesty was obviously touched by the account given him
and expressed the deepest sympathy.

" One of my own labourers," said the King, " brought up a
family on 135. a week, but this is much worse. How were you
educated ? "

" I never went to school in my life," said the member. " My
wife first taught me to read, and I put myself in a position to-
purchase books by giving up the luxury of tobacco."

His Majesty asked as to the welfare of the labourers to-day
and inquired if they were better off ? "

" Yes, decidedly," replied Mr. Edwards, " but there is a good
deal of privation now."

The conversation then turned to the position of affairs on Pis
Majesty's Norfolk estate at Sandringham, the King suggesting
that working conditions there were satisfactory.

Mr. Edwards agreed, and said he desired to express the greatest
appreciation of the efforts of the King in regard to working con-
ditions at Sandringham. " If all other landlords followed along
the same lines," added Mr. Edwards, " there would be little
trouble."

The King expressed his best wishes for Mr. Edwards' future.

Mr. Edwards had several minutes' conversation with the Queen,
who gave further proof of her interest in the housing of the people.
Her Majesty referred to housing conditions at Sandringham, and
Mr. Edwards expressed appreciation of what had been done for
the labourers on the estate with regard to housing, and remarked
that everything had been done that it was possible to do for the
home comforts of the tenants.

This brings my story almost to a close.

During my time I have seen what amounts almost
to a revolution in the lives of the people. There is no
comparison between the life of the village worker when I
was a lad and now. I have seen one Trade Union spring
up and fall. But during its short life, under the leadership

PARLIAMENT 233

of Joseph Arch, George Rix, Z. Walker and others, it did
some wonderful work for the agricultural workers. Through
its influence the labourers were enfranchised. The District
and Parish Council Act was put in force, and I look back
with pleasure at the humble part I was able to take in
this matter. Many years after that, as stated above,
I founded the present Union, and I have lived to see it
spread from Norfolk into every county in England and
Wales. It has gone from a little back-room of mine in
a little cottage in which I lived at Gresham to a fine block
of buildings at 72, Acton Street, London. It has
accomplished much for the agricultural labourers. It
has entirely altered and brightened up the monotonous
life of the labourer. It has given him a broader outlook
on life and I hope he will let nothing separate him from the
Union that has in so short a time done so much for him,
his wife and children.

As in the days of Arch there is again another attempt
to divide our forces by introducing what they call a New
Union. This is being done by those who ought to have
known better. Are the labourers going to let history
repeat itself ? If so, then all the sacrifice I have made
and the years of labour I have given on their behalf will
be thrown away. No, I cannot believe they will. I have
too strong a faith in their good common sense and in
their devotion and gratitude towards those who laboured
so hard for them to be led away by the platitudes of some
new-born friends.

In presenting my readers with my life-story let me ask
them, especially the young readers, as they read it
to watch carefully my limitations and failings (and they
will detect many), to study them attentively, and in
starting out in life to try and avoid them. Also, what-
ever they may see in the story that is worthy to be followed,
let them try to follow it. They are starting life now,,
thank God, under much better circumstances than I did.

234 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

As they read the facts here related they will notice
a touch of sadness running through it all. They will also
notice the many bitter struggles I have had coming along
this somewhat rugged road of life ; how I have battled
to lift myself above my environment ; how I have laboured
to educate myself and to inform myself on all public
questions, and I hope they will also detect a burning desire
from the first to use the knowledge I had obtained for the
benefit of my own class, as I hope, with some amount of
success. They will, I trust, gather from the early pages
of this story that the sufferings of my parents and the
privations that they underwent for their children had
branded themselves on my soul like a hot iron and that
from my very early days I became determined to do all
I could to make the life of my own class much brighter and
better than it was in those dark days.

As I look back on the years of the past and the events
in my life I am mystified. I cannot understand what has
been the overruling power in my life. As the reader will
see, disappointments have been my lot over and over again.
Many times in the hour of disappointment, smarting under
what I felt to be the ingratitude of the class for whom
I made so much sacrifice, I have said I could never again
make any attempt to help them. Yet as often as I have
said that some overpowering force compelled me to re-
enter the field.

There is, however, a secret behind all this and a reason
for the success that has crowned my labours although late
in life. First the loving and devoted wife it was my fortune
to have. Never on any occasion, whatever her own feelings
might be, did she sound one despondent note ; but in
my hours of depression would always give me a word of
encouragement. Although her death cast a great sadness
on my life, yet at the opportune moment there was light
in the darkness, for at her death her niece, Mrs. Kenrick,
who is so much like her in character and, if it could be

PARLIAMENT 235

possible, even more sympathetic, offered to come and look
after me as she has done for these last ten years. She
has entered into all my public life and has made my life
brighter than it could otherwise have been and made the
road to success much easier.

Another cause of the success in my life has been the
strong character I have been able to build up by embracing
Christian principles and my strong faith in the great
sacrificial life of Christ who gave His life for the cause of
humanity. It has enabled me to put my best into every-
thing I have taken in hand, and I would like to impress
upon my readers that in my opinion that is the only true
road to success in life. I am sure it has been the real cause
of my being able to accomplish what I have in the cause
to which I have devoted so much of my life.

Amidst all the turmoil of my public life I have remained
true to my first faith and have been loyal to the first Church
of my choice, the Primitive Methodist, and filled most of
the offices open to laymen in connection with that Church.
This I would recommend to my readers as being the one
essential thing : whatever our convictions may be, to be
true to them.

I can truly say that has been my one impelling motive
and is what I have always aimed at, to be true to my
conscience. I never entered into anything until I had
assured myself it was right and, when once I had done that,
nothing whatever could turn me from the path of duty.

Sometimes the members of my own Church could not
quite understand me. One point in connection with my
public work on which I have differed from them is the
holding of labour meetings on Sundays. They hold strong
convictions that such meetings are not paying due reverence
to the Sunday as we ought to. I was some long time before
I came to any other conclusion and refused to take any
part in Sunday labour meetings. I thought the matter
out very seriously for myself, however, and at last I came
to the conclusion that the Labour movement was built

236 FROM CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

on the very rock of Christianity and that I was as much
serving God by preaching what I believed to be the gospel
of God, namely economic freedom, as when I occupied the
pulpit. When, however, responsible for arranging such
meetings I would insist upon them being conducted on
strictly religious lines. I again ask my young readers
to stand by their convictions, think out matters for them-
selves and, once convinced they are right, go straight
forward. But above all to be true to God and your
brother man is the only road to success.

The great human progress that has been made during
this past seventy years, especially in the lives of the
agricultural labourers, in which I have been able to take
some humble part, is marvellous. Seventy years ago the
village labourer was a mere chattel in the industrial world.
His children were badly fed and uneducated.

The labourer had no voice in his local affairs. He had
no vote. He was compelled to accept such conditions as
were offered him and dared not complain. If he did so,
he was a marked man. Now we have obtained for him
collective bargaining and through his organizations he has
a voice in all local authorities. This has worked a wonderful
change. He has his vote and is now qualified to be even
a Justice of the Peace. Both men and women have already
been appointed. Many of the old colleagues that helped
to bring about this change have passed away. In fact,
I am the only one left to take any active part in public
movements of those that worked with the late Joseph
Arch, the founder of the first Union in 1872. Many of
them died before they saw accomplished what they had
set themselves out to do. But other men are reaping where
they have sowed. I have seen the first Unions come and
go and with their fall the labourer set back. And in 1906 I
founded the greatest Union and, as will be seen by this story,
it was built up by hard work and at great sacrifice by others
besides myself, to whom the men owe a great debt of

PARLIAMENT 237

gratitude. Some of these worthy men I will name : Mr.
G. E. Hewitt, Mr. J. A. Arnett, Mr. W. Holmes, Mr. T. G.
Higdon, the late Mr. Robert Green, and lastly my dear
and closest friend, Mr. W. R. Smith M.P., the President
of the Union, upon whose shoulders the brunt of the
Union's work is at the moment. I ought also to say that
I could not possibly have done what I did at the early
stages of the Union had it not have been for the financial
help I received from my friends the Earl of Kimberley
and Mr. Herbert Day of Norwich. Now the one great
question that weighs upon my mind is this : Are the men
for whom I spent my life going to maintain the position
that has been won for them ? The position is not without
danger. As in the days of Mr. Arch, so now there are forces
working to divide the men and to spread distrust amongst
them if they succeed. There is a danger of much that
has been gained being lost. I have, however, great faith
in the cause of democracy and there is still a brighter day
to come for the men in our country-side. I may not live
to see it. My last word of this story to my colleagues
and to the young men is to work on in your good cause,
to be reasonable and just, and to let the spirit of moderation
and goodwill dwell amongst you.

Oh ! droop not though pain, sin and anguish be round thee

Bravely fling off the gold chain that hath bound thee.

Look to clear Heaven shining above thee.

Rest not content in thy darkness a clod.

Work for some good, be it ever so slowly,

Labour, all labour, is noble and holy.

Let thy great deeds be thy prayer to God.

INDEX

Agricultural Committee, Norfolk War, 192

Agricultural depression, 16, 51, 75

Agricultural Wage Board, 196

Ailwyn of Honingham, Lord, 5, 49, 197

Arch, Joseph, 38, 40, 47, 49, 57, 63, 76, 90

Articles and letters to the press, 77, 79, 86, 88, 91, 190

Birth, 1 8

Buckingham Palace, 231

Burston School Strike, 187

Cottages, tied, 126
County Council, 104, 119-123
County Council Election, 61
Cozens-Hardy, Lord, 47
Crow-scaring, 23

Depression, agricultural, 16, 51, 75
District and Parish Councils Act, 66, 84
District Council, 68
District Secretary, 55

Eastern Weekly Leader, 76, 86, 88, 91

Education, 21

Edwards, Mrs. George, 31, 99, 157, 183

Election address, 215

Enfranchisement of agricultural labourers, 46, 51

Fakenham, 156

Farmers' Federation, The, 132, 142, 152, 194-196

Felbrigg, 50

George V,, King, 231
Guardians, 82

Imprisonment of father, 22
Industrial Christian Fellowship, 230

INDEX 239

Justice of the Peace, 187

Labourers' Independent Federation, The, 75
Labour Party, The, 201

Marriage, 31

Official, Trade Union, 56

Parentage, 15

Parish Council, 68

Parish Councils Act, District and, 66

Parliament —

Agricultural Bill, 229

Candidatures, 203, 213

Corn Production Act, 229

Election, 222

Election address, 215

Maiden speech, 226

Taking the Oath, 224
Pension Committee, Norfolk County, 193
Poor Law, Royal Commission on, 64, 65
Primitive Methodists, 29, 31, 32, 35

Reading, 32, 34, 52
Relief in kind, 70
Relief, outdoor, 64, 65, 69

St. Faith's, 136-155, 158-177

Smillie, Robert, 125

Smith, W. R., M.P., n, 178, 195

Songs, Union, 59, 117, 171

Strikes and lockouts, 42, 58, 60, 133, 136-155, 158-177, 186

Sunday meetings, 116

Tied cottages, 126

Trade Boards Act, 196

Trades Union Congress, 66, 125, 186

Tribunal, Norfolk Appeal, 192

Unemployment, 17, 79, 226
Union —

The first, 38, 51

The second, 54, 87

240 FROM. CROW-SCARING TO WESTMINSTER

Union, The present —

Committees, 103, 108, 114, 175
Finances, 107, 109, in, 129
First annual report, 112
First general meeting, 107
First office, 32
Foundation, 99
Reports, 112, 159, 174, 178
Second office, 156

Victimization, 44, 46, 48, 98

Wage Board, Agricultural, 196

Wages, 20, 23, 27, 41, 51, 130, 193, 199

Walker, Z., 39, 57, 66

War Agricultural Committee, Norfolk, 192

War, The Great, 190

Warrior's Return, The, 225

Weekly Leader, Eastern, 76, 86, 88, 91

Westminster, 224

Winfrey, Sir Richard, 129, 141, 147

Workhouse, 22

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